Like Les Gets, but in Switzerland: the village travels, the circuit does not

Of all 55 resorts we cover, our matching puts Adelboden closest to Les Gets, and it is the only pick here that keeps both of the labels we give Les Gets, traditional and family. It is a classic chalet village linked to Lenk, traditional and warm by our read, with tradition, families and the World Cup on its list.

The skiing carries over almost unchanged. We measure 115 kilometres around Adelboden, against your 99, with 52 kilometres of blue and easier against your 55 of green and blue. Twenty-five percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, against your 23, and 38 percent is gentler than 15 percent, against your 34, the joint fourth biggest share of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover. The blues average 14.5 percent, against your 15.0. There is more black, 12.9 kilometres against 9.6, though yours are steeper, averaging 33.2 percent against 26.1.

What it adds is height. The village sits at 1,350 metres, 178 above yours, and the skiing reaches 2,356 by our measure, 391 higher. Fifty-five percent of the piste is at or above 1,800 metres, against your 1. The top stops short of the 2,500 metres our snow sure test asks for, so Adelboden does not pass it either, but far more of the piste sits up high.

The trade is the circuit. From the village you can ski 85 kilometres without transport, and that includes Lenk, which is joined by lift. The pass covers 188 kilometres, but across five areas that are not all joined. Our 115 kilometres takes in some piste beyond the 85 kilometre domain, so plan on the 85, and set it against a linked 580. You fly to Zurich or Geneva.

If the height is what sends you looking, Crans-Montana is the Swiss pick that fixes it. The village is at 1,500 metres, 328 above yours, and the skiing reaches 2,868 by our measure, 903 higher. Seventy-nine percent of the piste is at or above 1,800 metres, the fourth biggest share of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover, and it is the only one of the three that is snow sure on our measure. It is a sunny plateau with wide views over the Rhône, sunny and smart by our read, with sunshine, golf and spa, and families on its list. Geneva is still the airport.

The area is one linked whole of 140 kilometres, a figure three independent sources agree on to the kilometre, and we measure 85 around the village. It skis with a similar feel to yours: 22 percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, against 23, and 36 percent is gentler than 15 percent, against 34. The longest piste we measure is a black, Piste 19, 4 kilometres with 843 metres of drop.

The trade is the blue, and the village. There are 22 kilometres of blue and easier, 26 percent of the piste, against your 55 kilometres of green and blue, and 59 percent of it is red. Those reds are kind, averaging 19.2 percent against your 23.2, but there is much less blue. We tag Crans-Montana family but not traditional, so the village is a change too.

Villars has the biggest share of blue of the three. It is a relaxed family resort with a view of Mont Blanc, family friendly and calm by our read, with families, views and a relaxed week on its list, and we tag it quiet as well as family. Sixty-eight percent of the piste we measure is blue and easier, 48 kilometres, against your 56 percent green and blue, and 24 percent is steeper than one in four.

The area is Villars-Gryon-Les Diablerets: 87 kilometres of piste, all linked, or 104 with 16 kilometres of ski route. Glacier 3000 adds 31 kilometres on passes of three days or more. Around the village we measure 71 kilometres.

The trade is that the height hardly moves, and the hard end goes. The village is at 1,300 metres, 128 above yours, and the skiing tops out at 2,074 by our measure, 109 higher and the lowest of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover. With 25 percent of the piste at or above 1,800 metres, it is not snow sure on our measure. There are 1.5 kilometres of black, the least of the 55 resorts we cover, against your 9.6, and we do not tag it traditional. Geneva is the airport.