I'm trying out a new-to-me region in Tirol: the Paznaun Valley, which features three smaller ski areas and one large circuit: world-renowned Ischgl.
Instead of headquartering myself in Ischgl, I decided to stay at a much quieter and far less expensive place 15 minutes away, Galtür, which has its own separate ski area (not connected to Ischgl).
Since my hotel is ski-in and only a 50-yard walk to the base lifts, instead of going immediately to Ischgl, I decided to spend the first morning here getting used to my rental demos. People describe Galtür as "a small, family ski area" -- and it is compared to Ischgl; however, with 2,100 legit verts and a lot of skiable acreage, it was more interesting than I expected based on the trail map:
An express lane for kids so they can cut lines during peak periods (the midwinter break starts next week).
Just like the old days -- no hats or helmets on a 17-degree morning:
As Tony noticed earlier this week, people in the Alps LOVE to ski groomers. Whenever you ask someone on a lift about his/her opinion on the ski area, the response is usually something along the lines of "die Pisten hier sind sehr gut gepflegt!" ("the trails are very nicely groomed here!") with very little mention of anything else. Which isn't to say that absolutely, positively no one skis off-piste, but the vast majority of holiday punters don't.
With a short traverse off the upper lifts, there was plenty of barely-touched snow, many days after the last big storm. I found nice, soft lines on anything north-facing:
Choose the wrong aspect and it was stiff and wind-impacted:
Austrian ski areas are known for converting cow barns into on-mountain restaurants or bars. Here's one at Galtür:
Skiing into the hotel:
An early-afternoon beer on the patio of my hotel, looking forward to my first day at the big show tomorrow:
Instead of headquartering myself in Ischgl, I decided to stay at a much quieter and far less expensive place 15 minutes away, Galtür, which has its own separate ski area (not connected to Ischgl).
Since my hotel is ski-in and only a 50-yard walk to the base lifts, instead of going immediately to Ischgl, I decided to spend the first morning here getting used to my rental demos. People describe Galtür as "a small, family ski area" -- and it is compared to Ischgl; however, with 2,100 legit verts and a lot of skiable acreage, it was more interesting than I expected based on the trail map:
An express lane for kids so they can cut lines during peak periods (the midwinter break starts next week).
Just like the old days -- no hats or helmets on a 17-degree morning:
As Tony noticed earlier this week, people in the Alps LOVE to ski groomers. Whenever you ask someone on a lift about his/her opinion on the ski area, the response is usually something along the lines of "die Pisten hier sind sehr gut gepflegt!" ("the trails are very nicely groomed here!") with very little mention of anything else. Which isn't to say that absolutely, positively no one skis off-piste, but the vast majority of holiday punters don't.
With a short traverse off the upper lifts, there was plenty of barely-touched snow, many days after the last big storm. I found nice, soft lines on anything north-facing:
Choose the wrong aspect and it was stiff and wind-impacted:
Austrian ski areas are known for converting cow barns into on-mountain restaurants or bars. Here's one at Galtür:
Skiing into the hotel:
An early-afternoon beer on the patio of my hotel, looking forward to my first day at the big show tomorrow:
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