Like Schladming, but in France: the same gentle family week, a little higher

Samoëns is our matching's closest resort to Schladming, anywhere. The village is at 720 metres, the lowest of the 17 French resorts we cover and 25 below Schladming's. Our read on it is authentic and calm, a listed old village with its history, families and value on its list, and we class it as traditional, quiet and family. Families and value are on Schladming's list too.

The skiing is gentler still. Forty percent of the piste is gentler than 15 percent, the joint fourth largest share of the 55 resorts we cover, and only 19 percent is steeper than one in four, the smallest share of the 17 French resorts we cover, against Schladming's 27. The reds are where you feel it. They average 19.9 percent, the gentlest of the 17 French resorts we cover, against Schladming's 24.4, which is a shade steeper than a typical Austrian red. If the reds are where your improvers struggle at Schladming, they will struggle less here. The one thing that goes the other way is the blue: Samoëns's blues average 16.6 percent against Schladming's 13.0, and there are 48.3 kilometres of green and blue, 54 percent of the piste.

It also climbs higher. The skiing reaches 2,372 metres, 371 above Schladming's top, though that figure is the top of the piste we measure and sits above the highest lift we map. Eighteen percent of the piste is at or above 1,800 metres, against 7, and half of it lies above 1,576 metres, against 1,384. Better, and still not snow sure on our measure. The longest piste we measure there is a 6.3 kilometre red with 867 metres of vertical.

The trade is the size around the village. We measure 89.5 kilometres of piste, 44 fewer than around Schladming. The Grand Massif, the area above the village, is not classified in our data, so we quote no total for it and cannot yet say how much of it you ski from Samoëns. Night skiing is on Schladming's list, not Samoëns's. The nearest airport is Geneva.

Châtel is the pick if what you love is Schladming's mix of runs and you would like more room beyond it. Our read on it is rustic and friendly, with farm village character on the Swiss border, and value, tradition and families on its list. We class it as traditional and family.

The mix is close to a copy. Twenty six percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, against Schladming's 27, and the reds average 24.3 percent, against 24.4. The easy end is a bigger share, though not counted the same way: 45.3 kilometres of green and blue, 55 percent of the piste, against 44 percent blue and easier at Schladming. The blues are a little steeper, 15.6 percent against 13.0, and 35 percent of the piste is gentler than 15 percent, against 39.

The circuit is the gain. Châtel's own sector, the Espace Liberté, is 120 kilometres shared with Torgon and Morgins, close to the 123 that Schladming's four mountains give you, and beyond it lies the Portes du Soleil, twelve villages across two countries on one genuinely linked circuit. The official figure is 600 kilometres; measured, it comes to 580, and an independent measurement cited by Wikipedia puts it nearer 426. Schladming's Ski amadé pass is bigger on paper, at 760 kilometres, but its five regions are not all joined.

It sits a little higher. The village is at 1,200 metres, 455 above Schladming's, and the skiing tops out at 2,084, measured, 83 higher. Twenty three percent of the piste is at or above 1,800 metres, against 7: the most of the picks here, and still not snow sure on our measure.

The trade is the hard end and the size around the village. Châtel has 5.4 kilometres of black, the least of the 17 French resorts we cover, against 12.9, and we measure 81.8 kilometres around the village, 52 fewer than around Schladming. The nearest airport is Geneva.