Like SkiWelt, but in France: the family village travels, the size does not

We class Les Gets as traditional and family, just as we class the SkiWelt, and families come first on its list, ahead of tree skiing and a charming village. Our read on it is warm and traditional.

Its mix is the nearest of the three to yours. Thirty-four percent of the piste is gentler than 15 percent, level with your share, and 23 percent is steeper than one in four, against your 24. The blues average 15.0 percent against your 15.6, and the reds 23.2 against 22.0. Those are average gradients per run segment, and a run's grade is set by its steepest pitch, but across a border they are a fairer guide than the colours.

Then there is the circuit. Les Gets is a gateway to 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. The home sector, Les Gets and Morzine, is 117 kilometres. Châtel shares the same pass.

What you give up is the size on the doorstep and the hard end. Around Les Gets we measure 99 kilometres of piste, 159 fewer than around the SkiWelt, with 55 of green and blue. There are 9.6 kilometres of black against your 20, though they average 33.2 percent, the third steepest blacks of the 17 French resorts we cover, and there is no marked itinerary in our data, against your 10.8.

And on our snow measure it gains almost nothing. The village is at 1,172 metres, 552 above yours, but the skiing tops out at 1,965 metres by our measure, 7 above your top and the lowest of the 17 French resorts we cover. Only 1 percent of the piste is at or above 1,800 metres.

Our matching puts Megève nearest to the SkiWelt of the 17 French resorts we cover, and of these three it comes closest on the thing the SkiWelt sells first. We measure 189 kilometres of piste around Megève, the eighth most of the 55 resorts we cover and the most of these three, though 69 fewer than around the SkiWelt. Of that, 104 kilometres is green and blue, and 20 percent is steeper than one in four. Our one line is cobbled charm and long easy cruising. The Evasion Mont Blanc pass is quoted at 400 kilometres, but that spans several villages; the 189 is Megève's own.

It is a little higher. The village is at 1,113 metres, 493 above yours, and the skiing reaches 2,402 metres by our measure, 444 higher. Fifteen percent of the piste is at or above 1,800 metres, and half of it sits above 1,607, where half of yours sits below 1,283. Not snow sure on our measure, but more of the piste is higher up.

The trade is the tone. Megève is elegant and calm by our read, and we class it as upmarket, traditional and quiet, with relaxed skiing, fine dining and a charming village on its list. Value is not on it, and our matching marks family as the SkiWelt trait that does not carry over, though our guide makes a fair case for Megève with children, for its gentle slopes and its ski schools. The hard end is softer than yours: its blacks average 23.3 percent, the gentlest of the 17 French resorts we cover, against your 28.5.

If what you love is a low, traditional village and good value, Samoëns is as near as France gets. The village is at 720 metres, 100 above yours and the lowest of the 17 French resorts we cover. We class it as traditional, quiet and family, and historic village, families and value are the three things on its list. Value is the one neither of the other picks carries. Our one line is a listed old village with a big area above it, and it is authentic and calm by our read.

It is the gentlest of the three, and gentler than the SkiWelt. Forty percent of the piste is gentler than 15 percent, the joint fourth biggest share of the 55 resorts we cover, and 19 percent is steeper than one in four, the smallest share of the 17 French resorts we cover. Its reds average 19.9 percent, the gentlest of the 17 French resorts we cover, against your 22.0.

What you give up is the size close to home. The Grand Massif above it is quoted at 265 kilometres, a figure we have not checked. Around Samoëns itself we measure 90 kilometres of piste, 169 fewer than around the SkiWelt, with 48 of green and blue and 9.2 of black. The longest run we measure is a 6.3 kilometre red with 867 metres of drop, longer than your longest, a 4.3 kilometre blue. The skiing reaches 2,372 metres by our measure, 414 above your top, and 18 percent of the piste is at or above 1,800 metres, the most of these three, though still short of snow sure on our measure.