2023-04-30 10:00:17
Despite growing challenges, the hut keepers of the Austrian Alpine Association are expecting a promising summer season
Tyrol (OTS) – With the beginning of the summer season, the 231 alpine huts of the Austrian Alpine Club open their doors to the gastronomy again. After a winter with little snow, the innkeepers are looking forward to summer with confidence. The booking situation is already pleasing. At the same time, the hut keepers of the Alpine Club urgently advise you to think about reserving a place to sleep in good time. There is only occasionally a shortage of staff in the Alpine accommodation establishments, and one of the growing challenges is the water supply in particular.
Annually the 231 cottages of the Alpine Club with their over 10,000 sleeping places of about one million hikers visited. After the winter with little snow and a limited range of tours, a promising but also challenging summer season is now ahead. “We would like to say a special thank you to our hut keepers and the hut-owning sections. The water shortage in particular is a real problem at higher altitudes and we are impressed by what is achieved here every day,” estimates Alpine Club President Andreas Ermacora.
Shower or cat wash?
At least since the extremely dry summer of 2022, they have been increasing problems with the water supply at some Alpine Club huts. The Austrian Alpine Association expects this to happen again in the coming summer. “As a guest at the hut, you should always be aware that it is essential to use water sparingly. Just a short shower of three minutes already uses at least 30 to 40 liters of drinking water, which the hut keepers urgently need for other purposes,” calculates Doris Hallama, Vice President of the Alpine Club and expert on hutsbefore.
The interplay between the lack of snow, the retreat of the glaciers and the decrease in meltwater and the general drought put many a hut operation to the test. Fortunately, none of the huts in the Austrian Alpine Club had to be closed due to water shortages last summer, but there were restrictionsto the precious good for the most necessary activities to have enough available.
The water shortage at the shelters has far-reaching consequences, but there are ways to adapt to the situation. But that also means rising investment costs, for example when toilets have to be converted to water-poor or waterless systems or the wastewater treatment plants have to be adapted. In addition, it sometimes happens bottlenecks in the energy supply, since the small hydroelectric power plants of the Alpine Club huts produce too little electricity when there is a water shortage. A careful use of all resources is therefore more than ever the top priority, both on the part of the guests and the hut keepers.
All-round geniuses: hut staff
“Four sections are currently looking for new hut tenants. There is no serious shortage of staff in this area. Nevertheless, it is becoming apparent that many people imagine the work in the hut to be a little different than it actually is,” says Georg Unterberger, head of the huts and trails department at the Alpine Club. In addition to the basic gastronomic requirements, the entire hut management is part of everyday life. In remote refuges, a restaurateur quickly becomes an all-rounder with a wide range of activities – from technicians or fire protection experts to first aiders or cooks. In order to be well prepared, the Alpine Club offers for the hut keepers extensive training which are also used for the exchange between the hosts and are very well accepted. For this summer, the search for employees was unproblematic. The currently open positions are on the Hut Job Website advertised by the Alpine Club.
Attention, sleeping place reservation!
“Especially on weekends, the Alpine Club huts are often fully booked. That’s why we still recommend all guests to reserve a place to sleep in good time before staying overnight in the hut,” advises George Unterberger.
This works particularly conveniently online: more than 400 huts in the Alps are already using it Online reservation system of the Alpine Club huts, around 200 of them in Austria and South Tyrol. An immense simplification of everyday life in the hut – but it is particularly important for the sake of the hut keepers Reservation also reliable to keep.
For a year, the digital bed check the tour planning of mountain enthusiasts. With it, multi-day tours or long-distance hikes across several huts can be planned with just a few clicks and the respective availability can be called up. Many of the well-known long-distance hiking trails are already integrated with all the huts on the route. The best conditions for a successful summer in the mountains!
Helpful links:
Questions & contact:
Austrian Alpine Club – huts, paths & cartography
Olympiastraße 37, 6020 Innsbruck
T +43/512/59547-0
presse@alpenverein.at
www.alpenverein.at
1682900690
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