Daily ramblings and are Alpine huts a victim of their own success?
6th to 8th August 2023 - Tyrol, Austria
Today (8th August) would have been my mother’s 90th birthday. Sadly, she died three years ago, but weirdly, I can still sort of talk to her. Not in a hands around the table seance kind of way, but in a high percentage DNA kind of way. Mom’s twin sister (don’t think they were identical, so a mere 50% DNA match) is alive and well so, in lieu of a chat with my mom I will call her twin instead and wish her a happy 90th birthday.
Enough of family news, let’s talk about what me and Mrs P have been up to. The last three days have been pretty good weather wise. We hiked…
High on a hill stood a lonely Mrs P
A neighbour asked if I sing songs from the musical The Sound of Music, when I’m hiking in the mountains. I really do. The Lonely Goatherd is definitely my favourite. Check it out. It’s a classic.
What you lookin’ at, stranger!?
Rabantalm (‘alm’ means ‘high pasture’ - I’ve told you this before. Do keep up!) Don’t ask me what Rabant means.
We then spent a day on the campsite packing for a much anticipated trip into the high mountains. Following weeks of inclement weather the day we chose to pack was ironically the first day for some considerable time that there was no rain the whole day. I have no idea why it took all day to pack. Gandalf seemed to spew out an inordinate amount of kit and what with clothes washing, mid-morning snack, lunch etc. the day just seemed to slip through our fingers.
‘Gandalf’ or ‘The Tardis’? You decide.
…and finally, we made an at least partially successful ascent of a snowy mountain.
We were supposed to climb the one on the left, the Ankogel (3,252m), but settled for the one on the right the Kleiner Ankogel (3,095m)
Our plan had been to hike up to the hut, on the Monday, spend the night, get up early, climb the mountain and be back down for tea, medals and another night in the hut. But, the best laid plans, as they say, oft fall apart in the face of a poor weather forecast and a fully booked hut. There was only one day of good weather and we could only get one night in the hut, so we planned to get up early, get the first chair lift up to 2,600m and… Well, long story short. It didn’t go entirely to plan and we had to settle for the lower peak only. Disappointing as we didn’t get to use the rope, harnesses etc. we were carrying, which means that I basically took my (heavy) climbing kit for a walk. Though we did get to wear our crampons.
Mrs P on the easy ridge
Waving to the world on top of the Kleiner Ankogel
Astonishingly, we had seen people coming down In trainers!
Me, taking my rope for a walk.
We definitely chose the right day to climb though. The following two photos were taken from pretty much the same spot but just 12 hours apart. The first when we got down after our climb. The second was taken the following morning.
What a view!
What view?
As I already said, we stayed in a mountain hut. In Austria these are owned and maintained by the various Alpverein Sektions (Alpine club sections). The first hut (the Gepatschhaus) was built in 1873. Back then they were nothing more than small but sturdy cabins built high in the mountains (up to 3,454m) to withstand the rigours of an Alpine winter and provide shelter for hardy mountaineers. Originally they provided little more than a wooden bench on which to sleep and perhaps a stove. You had to carry your own fuel (wood) up.
They have changed over the years and many have increased in size exponentially. Growing from basic huts sleeping just 6 or 8 to catered lodges sleeping more than 100 guests.
The original Karlsbadder Hütte, near Lienz, was built in 1883 and had just 8 beds. It now sleeps 90.
They have changed even more dramatically over recent years. Especially since I started using them more than 25 years ago and even more so since the advent of the internet. Back in the 1990s facilities were rudimentary to say the least. Toilets were often outside comprising a shed and a hole in a wooden seat suspended over a cliff face. Showers were unheard of. Even running water was something of a luxury. Usually only to be found in the ‘washroom.’ Which was sometimes just a repurposed pig trough and never drinkable. If you needed drinking water you had to buy bottles of mineral water at huge cost. The food was always good, but the huts were often cold. The single blanket provided in the room that slept 20 often proved insufficient. But they were cheap, so we could (and did) spend weeks traveling from hut to hut.
My how things have changed. The dinning room at the Hannover Haus. Heating in every room, drinking water from all taps, hot showers and flushing toilets.
Back in the day (my current favourite way to start a sentence), contacting the huts to book a bed was so difficult that you just didn’t bother. There was always room. Now, huts in popular areas are regularly fully booked for weeks at a time many months in advance. It makes the kind of spontaneity we like really difficult. I have trouble deciding what I’m doing tomorrow let alone in six months time. You can even book on Booking.com!!
So cheap travel in the mountains is a thing of the past. The Hannover Haus cost €25 each for one night. We are Austrian Alpine club members, normally it would be €35. Not too bad, but with breakfast and evening meal that rose to €144. Food costs have soared, but so have expectations. Camping is illegal so the huts are the only option. Personally, we don’t need hot showers or heating the room. We will happily share with others if it means we can afford to visit more huts.
In short Mrs P and I lament for the old days. No need to book, minimal facilities (surely better for the environment. except the toilet over the precipice bit) and cheaper accommodation. I get that food costs more but…
Well, that all came pouring out didn’t it.
I wonder what others think?
Me, wondering what others think, while taking my rope for a walk.
I promise to preach less from my own personal pulpit in my next blog.
