Ski resort comparisons

Two ends of the same valley, two separate mountains - and two different lift passes.

Two resorts, one lift pass, two very different weeks in the Tignes - Val d'Isère ski area.

One lift pass, two very different bases - the highest village in Europe, or the heart of the Three Valleys.

A thousand metres of altitude apart, and two completely different weeks in the Portes du Soleil.

Two halves of one ski area, a cable car apart, and two quite different weeks on the snow.

Two Oisans resorts facing each other across the valley, no lift between them - and one pass that covers both.

Two hours apart, two very different weeks - one built around altitude, the other around a village.

Both about an hour from Geneva, with very different mountains above them - one compact and linked, one scattered and serious.

Two resorts, one valley, three different lift passes - and the higher village is not the one with the higher skiing.

Two car-free resorts an hour apart, in two different ski areas, on two lift passes that do not overlap.

One ski area, one lift pass, and fifteen minutes of road between two very different villages.

Two Southern Alps resorts on the same six-day pass - one faces the sun, the other keeps the snow.

Two Grand Massif villages, the same lift pass, and only one you can ski home to.

One lift pass, two countries - and a link that closes when the wind gets up.

One ski area, two countries - and a lift pass that stops at the border.

Two separate ski areas an hour apart - and only one of them is on the Via Lattea pass.

Two Haute Maurienne resorts on one valley pass - a traditional three-village ski area, and a car-free station ten minutes from the train.

Two Tarentaise resorts 50 minutes apart, with no shared lift pass and no way to ski between them.

Two Portes du Soleil resorts in different valleys, on different lift passes, at opposite ends of the same circuit.

Two villages on the same lift pass, 400 metres apart in altitude - so the choice is about the village, not the mountain.

Two towns under the same mountain, facing opposite ski areas - and no single pass that covers both.

One lift pass, the same 250 km - and two very different ways of getting home at the end of the day.

Two quiet resorts either side of a col that stays shut all winter - and two lift passes that point in opposite directions.

The same 265 km from both - but one sits above the treeline, and only one is on the smaller lift pass.

Two Mont Blanc valleys, two separate ski areas, and one pass that bridges them - if you buy the right one.

Two valleys either side of the Saulire, one Three Valleys pass - and two local passes that stop at the ridge.

Two sides of the Matterhorn on one international pass - a car-free Swiss town, or a high Italian base at the foot of the lifts.

One lift pass, two villages on opposite sides of the Arlberg - and a ski link between them that runs the long way round, through Stuben and Zürs.

Half an hour apart on the same mountain road, but on separate lift passes - a quiet off-piste village or 300 km of big-name skiing from the door.

Two of the Tarentaise's biggest names, around 95 km apart by road - with no lift link and no shared pass, the choice decides which mountain you ski all week.

One lift pass, one shared mountain under the Eiger - and a choice between a busy valley town and a car-free village on the terrace above.

One lift pass, two towns 15 minutes apart by ski bus - a lakeside town under the Schmittenhöhe and a glacier village under the Kitzsteinhorn.

One lift pass, two ends of Grandvalira - a valley village built around ski schools and hotels, and a high border town built for skiing from the door and late nights.

Two Ladin valleys either side of the Gardena Pass, joined by the Sella Ronda - one bigger and busier, one quieter and built around long lunches.

One SkiWelt pass, two Wilder Kaiser villages - a lively base below the Hohe Salve and a quieter one beneath the Kaiser peaks.

One mountain, two countries, a tunnel in between - and a single pass that covers both sides.

One lift pass across five mountains - and a choice between a busy high-altitude town and a quiet chalet village down the valley.

One ski area across two countries - Austria's après capital on one side, a quiet duty-free Swiss valley on the other.

One valley and one lift pass, but no lift between them - a big glacier resort with loud après, or a quiet, snow-sure village at the end of the road.

One lift pass and a ski route most of the way between them - a lively market town with the valley's nightlife, or a quiet village below a glacier that skis all year.