Galtur builds Europe’s tallest snowman

14th January 2009, by Chris Gill

Meet Emil: apparently he’s Europe’s tallest snowman. At 17m/55ft tall, Emil is proving to be quite an attraction for visitors to the small, family-friendly ski area at Galtür, Austria.

It took five days for the resort to carve the white giant, who now poses mop in hand at the foot of the slopes while the “little people” have their photographs taken with him.

A Tourist Office spokesman said: ‘This is the second year running we have built a giant snowman and it is so popular that I think it will become a regular feature in Galtür.’

The resort has recently re-branded its ski area, Silvapark, to encourage more families to its uncrowded slopes, and to help visitors make the most of the mountain - which has a variety of runs in its small area (though not much to tempt experts) and is a welcome contrast to hyperactive neighbour Ischgl.

Snow sculpting has been a regular winter attraction in the Paznaun valley and Ischgl is holding its annual ‘Shapes in White’ exhibition - a collection of themed snow sculptures prepared by some of the top snow and ice sculpting teams in Europe. This year’s theme is Aliens.

Galtür is covered by the regional lift pass, which includes Ischgl, Kappl and See.

Galtür

W King

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