Austria 

Spotlight On Galtür

(Originally written in 2002 for OnTheSnow.com)
by Ted Heck

Skiers visualize high mountains, and in Austria the locals think Tal, too - with one l. It’s their word for valley. As in Paznauntal in the western part of the Tyrol, a valley that extends up from the city of Landeck and contains the resorts of Kappl, Ischgl and Galtür.

Top draw in the valley is Ischgl, the star of the immense Silvretta Arena that connects Austria with the Swiss resort of Samnaun. It’s a resort with 10,000 guest beds in multi-level buildings and a lively après-ski scene.

A few miles up the road is Galtür, the highest ski village along a scenic mountain road that gets so much snow in winter that it is closed to autos. The road connects with Partenen at the top of another valley, the Montafon, in the summer months.

Ernest Hemingway skied throughout the region for six months in the 1920s, while writing in Schruns in the Montafon. He rhapsodized about the scenery and the villagers. But he wouldn’t recognize Galtür today. It is a spa town with only 781 residents but nearly 4,000 beds. It touts its thermal waters and many activities in claiming to be “the true vacation village” in Austria. It’s much quieter than Ischgl after dark.

Hemingway had to trudge uphill to slide down. Today’s skiers have three chairlifts and seven draglifts to access 25 miles of groomed slopes and a lot of off-piste terrain. Nordic skiers have 28 miles of prepared tracks, with an equal number of winter walking paths. The alpine skiers can hop a bus for a short ride back down to Ischgl to enjoy the many trails and numerous lifts of the international ski circus.

Other outdoor activities include parasailing, hanggliding, ice skating, and sledding. Indoors are swimming and tennis and, of course, saunas and all the trimmings of a spa.

Hotels are reasonable; in a four-star like the Fluchthorn two in a room can have a January vacation for $100 a day per person, including breakfast and dinner. Bed and breakfast in three-star or two-star is appreciably lower.

Several years ago the village experienced an avalanche that wiped out homes and killed some skiers. It was the first snowslide in 500 years. The community has since built a retaining wall to prevent a recurrence.

The tourist office is friendly and helpful. However, we wonder if they really feel Hemingway’s short story about Galtür is the kind that skiers can relate to. In An Alpine Idyll, the famed author wrote of the wintertime death of a farm woman high up in the impassable mountains. Her husband didn’t bring her down until spring. The priest wondered if she had suffered much, because her mouth was distorted. The farmer said something like, “No, she died peacefully. I put her in the barn and that’s where I hung the lantern while I worked.”

It does divert conversation, however, while you’re sitting in a charming dining room replaying the ski day.