Like Schladming, but in Italy: the gentle family mountain, moved up the hill

Alta Badia is Schladming's gentle mountain at altitude. Forty percent of its piste is gentler than 15 percent, the joint fourth largest share of the 55 resorts we cover, against Schladming's 39, and only 15 percent is steeper than one in four, against 27. There are 76.4 kilometres of blue and easier, the most of the 10 Italian resorts we cover, against 59.3. The reds average 21.7 percent against 24.4, so the step up from blue is gentler; the blues average 14.4 against 13.0, a touch steeper.

It keeps the family feel. Our read on it is warm and welcoming, gentle Dolomite cruising and world class mountain food, with cuisine, the Sella Ronda and families on its list, and we class it as family. Our guide fills in the rest: five Ladin speaking villages, grooming it takes seriously, lunch on the mountain treated as an event, and relaxed evenings, with Corvara the liveliest village.

The height is the gain. The village is at 1,568 metres, 823 above Schladming's, and the skiing reaches 2,509 metres, measured, 508 higher. Sixty five percent of the piste is at or above 1,800 metres, against 7, and half of it lies above 1,880 metres, against 1,384. That makes Alta Badia snow sure on our measure.

The area reaches further than the village. Alta Badia's own sector is 130 kilometres, against the 123 of Schladming's four mountains, and it sits on the Sella Ronda, a day's circuit our guide describes as mostly blue and red. From a base on the Sella Ronda more than 500 kilometres is reachable by lift without a bus, on our own approximate sum. The Dolomiti Superski pass is quoted at 1,200 kilometres, but that covers twelve areas and only four are joined by lift. Around Alta Badia itself we measure 124.5 kilometres, 9.3 fewer than around Schladming.

The trade is the hard end and the town. There are 7.5 kilometres of black against Schladming's 12.9, and our guide is plain that hard charging experts will find it gentle. It is a cluster of villages rather than a valley town, and night skiing and value are on Schladming's list, not Alta Badia's. The nearest airports are Venice or Innsbruck.

Madonna is the pick for the Schladming family that likes one area joined up. Its area is 155 kilometres across three sectors, all linked by lift, against Schladming's 123, and we measure 115.1 kilometres around the village, 19 fewer than around Schladming. Our read on it is smart and sociable, elegant skiing beneath the Brenta Dolomites, with style, families and grooming on its list, and we class it as upmarket and family. Our guide adds a pedestrian centre, the aperitivo and fastidious grooming.

The blues are the match. They average 12.9 percent, within a tenth of a point of Schladming's 13.0, so the runs your youngest skis at Schladming will feel familiar. There are 53.8 kilometres of blue and easier against 59.3, the reds average 19.7 percent against 24.4, and only 18 percent of the piste is steeper than one in four, against 27. For the strong skiers there is more black: 17.3 kilometres, the second most of the 10 Italian resorts we cover, against 12.9, and steeper, averaging 30.2 percent against 25.0.

It sits high, too. The village is at 1,550 metres, 805 above Schladming's, and 61 percent of the piste is at or above 1,800 metres, against 7. The skiing tops out at 2,496 metres, measured, so close to the line our snow sure test draws that we are making no call either way until it has been checked by hand.

The trade is the feel. Madonna is upmarket by our read, where Schladming is down to earth, and night skiing and value are on Schladming's list, not Madonna's. The nearest airports are Verona or Milan.