Like Méribel, but in Austria: the same mountain, at the same height

Our matching puts Lech closer to Méribel than any other Austrian resort we cover, and the measurements show why. The village sits at 1,450 metres, exactly Méribel's height, and the fourth highest of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover. The mix under your skis is close to identical: 33 percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, against Méribel's 31, and 31 percent is gentler than 15 percent, against 32. The blues average 17.0 percent at both. The season runs December to April, the same as yours, and our read on Lech is a family resort, with Oberlech, above the village, the spot families tend to fall for.

Then it adds something Méribel does not have. Lech has 56 kilometres of marked off piste itinerary, the second most of the 55 resorts we cover, against Méribel's 5. And the Arlberg pass carries on to Zürs and St. Anton, so the steeper skiing and the louder evenings are there when the group wants them.

What you give up is scale, height at the top and some informality. We measure 175 kilometres of piste around Lech, two thirds of Méribel's 261, and 79 of blue and easier, about half Méribel's green and blue. The skiing tops out at 2,440 metres by our measure, 451 below Méribel's, and 61 percent of the piste is above 1,800 metres, against 78. The tone changes too. Lech is refined and quietly smart where Méribel is relaxed, and an evening means a drink by a fire rather than a singalong in ski boots. Some families love that. Others miss the noise.

If what you love about Méribel is the scale, and a week of easy miles with friends and family, Saalbach-Hinterglemm is the Austrian resort to look at. We measure 192 kilometres of piste around it, the second most of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover, and 122 kilometres of blue and easier, also the second most. Our read on it is fun and friendly, a family resort and a lively one, which is as near to Méribel's character as any pick here. The skiing is a circuit of linked villages that you can ski all the way round, with Hinterglemm the quieter side for children and Saalbach the place the après happens.

Two things are different, and both matter. The first is height. The village is at 1,003 metres, 447 below Méribel's, and the skiing tops out at 2,090 metres by our measure. Only 19 percent of the piste is above 1,800 metres, against 78, so it is not snow sure on our measure, and in a warm week you plan the day around which way the slopes face.

The second is a surprise. Saalbach-Hinterglemm measures steeper than Méribel. Forty-two percent of its piste is steeper than one in four, the fourth biggest share of the 55 resorts we cover. Its reds average 27.8 percent, the steepest of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover, against Méribel's 25.4, and its blues, at 17.8, are joint fourth steepest of the 55 resorts we cover. There is less black, 12 kilometres against 30, so the bite is spread through the reds and blues rather than parked on the black runs. A Méribel family of steady cruisers should know the blues here ask a little more of them.

Part of Méribel's appeal is that you rarely think about the snow. Ischgl is the Austrian pick that keeps that. Ninety percent of the piste we measure is above 1,800 metres, more than Méribel's 78 and the second biggest share of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover, and the skiing reaches 2,868 metres, just 23 below Méribel's top. It is snow sure on our measure, and the season is longer at both ends, from late November into May. There is serious skiing too: 27 kilometres of black, the fifth most of the 55 resorts we cover, and a lift link over the border to Samnaun in Switzerland for a change of scene at lunch.

What you give up is the family week. Ischgl is high energy by our read, famous for its nights, and the après spills out of the bars as soon as the lifts close. The easy skiing is a fraction of yours: 43 kilometres of blue and easier, about a quarter of Méribel's 156 of green and blue. What there is runs kind on average. The reds measure 20.7 percent against Méribel's 25.4, and only one of the 13 Austrian resorts we cover has gentler reds. But a family with first timers will find the easy end short, and the village is not built around early bedtimes.