Like Madonna di Campiglio, but in Switzerland: Crans-Montana comes very close
The Ski Snug teamUpdated 12 October 20265 min read
You love Madonna di Campiglio for the way it is put together. The grooming is the signature, the centre is smart and sociable, lunch in a rifugio is a fixture and the Brenta Dolomites do the rest. On our measurements the mountain is kind but not dull: the blues average 12.9 percent and the reds 19.7, only 18 percent of the piste we measure is steeper than one in four, and there are 17.3 kilometres of black, the second most of the 10 Italian resorts we cover, across 155 kilometres in three linked sectors.
The good news is that Switzerland does this better than you might expect. Our matching finds three Swiss resorts close to Madonna, and one of them, Crans-Montana, is close on most of what we measure. What none of them carries is the upmarket tag we give Madonna: Crans-Montana is smart, the other two are warm and peaceful rather than polished.
| Resort | Village | Ski area | Blue and easier | Black | Steeper than one in four | Piste at or above 1,800 m |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Your benchmarkMadonna di Campiglio | 1,550 m | 155 km, three sectors, all linked | 53.8 km | 17.3 km | 18% | 61% |
| Crans-Montana | 1,500 m | 140 km, all linked | 22 km | 12.9 km | 22% | 79% |
| Adelboden | 1,350 m | 85 km from the village; 188 km pass | 52.3 km | 12.9 km | 25% | 55% |
| Wengen | 1,274 m | 101 km sector; 211 km pass | 50.7 km | 20.4 km | 20% | 66% |
On snow, Madonna sits on our line. Sixty-one percent of the piste we measure is above 1,800 metres and the skiing tops out at 2,496 metres, a whisker under the 2,500 we ask for, so we leave that call open.
Crans-Montana: the closest on height, gradient and style
- VillageVillage
- 1,500 m 50 m lower
- Highest liftTop lift
- 3,000 m 420 m higher
Crans-Montana: 85 km of piste we measure. 22 km blue and easier 26%50 km red 59%13 km black 15%
Our matching puts Crans-Montana nearest of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover, and the reasons stack up. The village is at 1,500 metres, 50 below Madonna's. The skiing is one linked area of 140 kilometres, against your 155, with three sources agreeing on the figure to the kilometre. Thirty-six percent of the piste is gentler than 15 percent, Madonna's exact share. Our read is sunny and smart, with golf, a spa and families on its list, which is the nearest of the three to smart and sociable.
Underfoot it is strikingly familiar. The reds average 19.2 percent against your 19.7, and the blues 13.3 against 12.9. A Madonna skier will barely notice the change of country on the first run.
It also answers the snow question Madonna leaves open. It is snow sure on our measure: 79 percent of the piste we measure is above 1,800 metres, up to 2,868 metres, 372 above Madonna's top.
The trade is in how the piste map is coloured and how big it is. Only 22 kilometres is blue and easier, the second least of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover, so most of your cruising will be on reds that measure like Madonna's reds. There are 12.9 kilometres of black against 17.3, and we measure 85 kilometres around the village, against 115 at Madonna. A family with a true beginner should check where the easy runs are before choosing where to stay.
Adelboden: the closest on size and easy kilometres
- VillageVillage
- 1,350 m 200 m lower
- Highest liftTop lift
- 2,362 m 218 m lower
Adelboden: 115 km of piste we measure. 52 km blue and easier 46%49 km red 43%13 km black 11%
If what you would miss is the amount of easy skiing, Adelboden matches it almost to the kilometre. We measure 114.6 kilometres around the village, against Madonna's 115.1, and 52.3 kilometres of blue and easier, against 53.8. Thirty-eight percent of the piste is gentler than 15 percent, a little more than your 36. Our read is traditional and warm, a classic chalet village good for families, with World Cup racing on its list.
The skiing is a touch steeper. The blues average 14.5 percent and the reds 21.3, both steeper than Madonna's, and a quarter of the piste is steeper than one in four, against 18 percent, the joint third biggest share of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover. The blacks are kinder, though, at 26.1 percent against your 30.2.
The linked area is smaller. From the village you can ski 85 kilometres without transport, Lenk included; the 188 kilometre pass covers five areas that are not all joined. The village is 200 metres lower, the skiing stops at 2,356 metres by our measure, 140 below Madonna's top, and 55 percent of the piste we measure is above 1,800 metres. It is not snow sure on our measure.
Wengen: the closest on balance and scenery
- VillageVillage
- 1,274 m 276 m lower
- Highest liftTop lift
- 2,320 m 260 m lower
Wengen: 125 km of piste we measure. 51 km blue and easier 40%54 km red 43%20 km black 16%
Wengen is for the Madonna skier who loves the setting as much as the skiing. Our read is a peaceful, car free balcony village, good for families and for scenery, with the Jungfrau standing in for the Brenta. Its piste splits more evenly between easy, red and black than any other Swiss resort we cover, and Madonna is the second most even of the Italian resorts we cover, so the shape of a day will feel similar. Twenty percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, against your 18.
It has more for the confident skier: 20.4 kilometres of black, about 3 more than Madonna and the second most of the 15 Swiss resorts we cover, yet they average 24.3 percent, the second gentlest of the Swiss resorts we cover. Plenty of black, gently pitched.
What you give up is height and a single linked area. The village is 276 metres lower than Madonna's. Wengen's own sector is 101 kilometres, shared with Grindelwald, on a 211 kilometre pass of three areas, one of which, Mürren, is not joined by lift. And the snow call is as open as Madonna's: 66 percent of the piste we measure is above 1,800 metres, but our map runs up to the Jungfraujoch, far above Wengen's own skiing, so we have not made the call.
Madonna's appeal is a well groomed, gentle mountain with a smart village at a good height, one linked area and enough black for the better skier, and Crans-Montana keeps nearly all of it: the same village height to within 50 metres, the same share of gentle piste, reds and blues that measure almost the same, a linked area close in size, and snow we are happy to call. Go knowing the easy runs are mostly coloured red, the home slopes are smaller and the polish is sunny rather than upmarket. If the volume of easy skiing matters most, Adelboden.