Like Mayrhofen, but in France: the lively family week travels, the height does not
The Ski Snug teamUpdated 12 October 20265 min read
You love Mayrhofen, and you want to try France. What you love is probably the mix. It is a lively, welcoming town in the Zillertal, and our list of what it does best runs nightlife, families, then the snow park. Above it sits a red mountain with a steep signature run: 53 percent of the 90.5 kilometres of piste we measure around the town is red, and 32 percent is steeper than one in four, against 26 at the median resort we cover.
It also sleeps low and skis high. The town is at 630 metres, the second lowest of the 55 resorts we cover, yet half the piste we measure lies above 1,829 metres and the skiing tops out at 2,412, measured. The longest piste we measure there is a 4.3 kilometre red with 1,161 metres of vertical.
The honest headline: France's closest matches keep the mood, not the height. Our matching puts La Clusaz closest to Mayrhofen of all the French resorts we cover, and of Mayrhofen's five closest matches anywhere it is the only one that keeps both traits we give it, lively and family. It is much the same size, and its skiing tops out a little higher. What neither French pick keeps is Mayrhofen's piste up high. You will sleep higher anywhere in France, since every French village we cover sits above Mayrhofen's, but on these matches you will ski lower.
| Resort | Village | Top of the skiing, measured | Piste we measure around the village | Easy piste | Steeper than one in four | Piste at or above 1,800 m |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Your benchmarkMayrhofen | 630 m | 2,412 m | 90.5 km | 28.5 km blue and easier | 32% | 55% |
| La Clusaz | 1,100 m | 2,458 m | 96.6 km | 56 km green and blue | 39% | 18% |
| Le Grand-Bornand | 1,000 m | 2,458 m | 85.4 km | 52.3 km green and blue | 37% | 15% |
La Clusaz: the closest on the mood and the mix
- VillageVillage
- 1,100 m 470 m higher
- Highest liftTop lift
- 2,600 m 100 m higher
La Clusaz: 97 km of piste we measure. 56 km green and blue 58%32 km red 33%9 km black 9%
La Clusaz is where we would send a Mayrhofen regular first. Our read on it is lively and local, a village close to Geneva with a weekend feel, and we class it as lively, traditional and family. Families are on its list of what it does best, as they are on Mayrhofen's. Nightlife and the snow park are on Mayrhofen's list and not on La Clusaz's, so they are not the reason to go.
The size carries over. We measure 96.6 kilometres of piste around the village, 6 more than around Mayrhofen, and the skiing tops out at 2,458 metres, measured, 46 higher. The Aravis, which it shares with Le Grand-Bornand, is not classified in our data, so we quote no total for it.
The mountain is a different shape, and the measured shares say how. La Clusaz is gentler at one end: there are 56 kilometres of green and blue, 58 percent of the piste, against Mayrhofen's 28.5 of blue and easier, and 38 percent is gentler than 15 percent, against 32. It is steeper at the other. Thirty nine percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, the joint sixth largest share of the 55 resorts we cover, and the reds average 29.0 percent, the steepest of the 55 we cover, against Mayrhofen's 23.3. The blacks average 37.3 percent, the second steepest of the 55 we cover, though there are only 8.9 kilometres of them against 14.1.
So if the steep signature run is your favourite part of a Mayrhofen week, the reds here will feel like more of it. If your children live on Mayrhofen's blues, which average 12.7 percent, the gentlest of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover, La Clusaz's are a touch steeper at 14.6, and there are far more of them.
The trade is where the piste sits. The village is 470 metres higher than Mayrhofen's, but the skiing climbs less far above it. Only 18 percent of the piste we measure is at or above 1,800 metres, against 55, and half of it lies above 1,528 metres, against 1,829. Mayrhofen keeps far more of its skiing up the hill.
Le Grand-Bornand: the closest on the black, in a quieter village
- VillageVillage
- 1,000 m 370 m higher
- Highest liftTop lift
- 2,100 m 400 m lower
Le Grand-Bornand: 85 km of piste we measure. 52 km green and blue 61%22 km red 26%11 km black 13%
Le Grand-Bornand shares the Aravis with La Clusaz, so between these two the question is which village, not which mountain. Our matching puts it second closest to Mayrhofen of the French resorts we cover. Our read on it is rural and friendly, a farming village with families, authenticity and quiet on its list, and we class it as traditional, quiet and family. It keeps the family week and lets the lively one go.
Its own description says it keeps things gentle. The measurements disagree, and we go with the measurements. Its gentle share is 32 percent, the same as Mayrhofen's, but 37 percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, the fourth largest share of the 17 French resorts we cover. The reds average 28.1 percent, the third steepest of the 55 resorts we cover, and the blacks 34.3, the second steepest of the 17 French resorts we cover. There are 11.3 kilometres of black, the nearest of the two picks to Mayrhofen's 14.1, and the easy end is well stocked too: 17.4 kilometres of green and 34.9 of blue.
It is a little smaller. We measure 85.4 kilometres around the village, 5 fewer than around Mayrhofen. The village is at 1,000 metres, 370 above Mayrhofen's, and the measured top of the skiing is 2,458 metres, the same figure as La Clusaz's on the area they share, though the highest piste we measure here is 2,362. Only 15 percent of the piste is at or above 1,800 metres, against 55.
It suits the Mayrhofen family whose children are already confident on red and who would rather come home to a quiet village.
The one we left out
Our matching also suggests Les Gets, and it is out on purpose. It is a warm, traditional family village on the Portes du Soleil, a genuinely linked circuit of twelve villages across two countries. But its skiing tops out at 1,965 metres, measured, the lowest of the 17 French resorts we cover, and 1 percent of its piste is at or above 1,800 metres. For a Mayrhofen regular, that is the wrong trade. Our matching puts no other French resort closer to Mayrhofen than these three, the high ones included.
What Mayrhofen gives is a lively family week on a mountain with real bite, and La Clusaz is the only one of its five closest matches anywhere that keeps both of those traits, on a mountain of much the same size with a top 46 metres higher. You gain far more green and blue, and reds steeper than you are used to. Go knowing that much less of the skiing is up high, and that the nightlife and the snow park belong to Mayrhofen's list rather than La Clusaz's. If a quiet village matters more than a lively one, Le Grand-Bornand, on the same area.