Galtür is a village and ski resort in the upper Paznaun valley in Austrian state of Tyrol located in the Central Eastern Alps 35 km southwest of Landeck near the border of Vorarlberg and Switzerland.

In less than 60 seconds, the 50-metre-high (164 ft) wall of snow traveled at 290 kilometres per hour (180 mph), and overturned cars, destroyed buildings, and buried 57 people—of these, 31 died before rescue teams could reach them.

Due to the continuing danger of avalanches, thousands of tourists were evacuated from the Paznaun valley via air-lift.

The avalanche was caused by three major weather systems from the Atlantic that produced large snowfalls totaling around 4 meters in the area.

Alternating freezing and thawing created a weak layer on top of an existing snow pack, followed by additional snowfall.

In addition, ski pros find challenging runs and many deep snow slopes without any tracks.

Off piste opportunities through trees and between runs, particularly surrounding the Breitspitzbahn chair lift, are available, even for less experienced skiers.