Galtür Ski Holidays, Austria

“Traditional high-altitude village resort with excellent variety of terrain”

Sitting at the top of the Paznaun valley and dominated by the mighty Ballunspitz mountain, Galtür is a traditional high alpine village with a compact yet varied ski area, few queues and quieter evenings.

Galtür’s Silvapark Ski Area is best suited to families, beginners and intermediates although there is plenty of freeride terrain to explore and the resort is also deservedly popular for ski touring, cross-country skiing, winter hiking and snow-shoe tours.

It is also the perfect destination for those looking to Ski Ischgl – just a short hop on the ski bus down the valley - without the hustle, bustle and price tag of staying in Ischgl itself.

On the Mountain 

For a smaller ski area, Galtür’s strength lies in its variety with lots of piste options off the top of each lift and some clever zoning of the ski area into 6 sectors from a beginner kids area to the Hero’s Freeride sector and Action Snowpark.

The children’s nursery area and beginner lifts are located at the foot of the mountain with easy progression on to the lifts higher up. Intermediate skiers will find plenty of choice on the mountain and some stunning scenery and advanced skiers can enjoy some truly excellent off-piste on a powder day including the ski routes under the new Breitspitzbahn lift.

For those looking to explore the Paznaun valley (Silvretta Area Lift Pass) further, Ischgl is around 10 minutes on the ski bus which runs regularly throughout the day and Kappl is well worth a day trip.

Off the Mountain 

There’s a good après-ski scene from mid-afternoon at the Weiberhimmel Hut near the bottom of the ski area and a few bars in the resort for later on (Biwak 66, Tommy’s Garage) however, it’s all pretty low-key and evenings tend to be mostly Hotel-based.

There’s a family-friendly resort Pool with slide, a bouldering wall and lots of cleared winter walkways on which to take the (award-winning!) mountain air as Ernest Hemingway famously once did.