Silvretta-Bielerhöhe

The praise is for exactly what brings people here: a high alpine plateau in the heart of the Silvretta under Piz Buin, where the skiing is contemplative rather than competitive. Getting there is half the experience - the pass road is shut in winter, so you ride the cable car up from Partenen and then take a bus through the tunnels along the reservoir. The plateau is valued by ski tourers, cross-country skiers and those doing the snowcat-assisted ski safari.

The only real criticism is that this is not a resort in the usual sense: a couple of lifts, a few kilometres of prepared piste, and nobody expecting a network of runs should come - the full-size Silvapark lies below in Galtür. The day is boxed in by the timetable, with the last ascent leaving well before dark, and the season opens late, around Christmas. Road access from the Vorarlberg side has been shut by rockfall for years.