HUTS OF THE WORLD
Different countries take different approaches to mountain shelters and huts. Here’s a quick rundown of what you can expect where...
NOTE: Covid restrictions in huts are gradually relaxing at different speeds throughout 2021, so check the websites of the various Alpine Clubs. Expect huts to be very busy.
THE ALPS
Classic cabanes, real rifugi, habitual Hütte
Mountain huts originated in the Alps, and they’ve had a couple of hundred years to get the whole thing working pretty much perfectly. Expect basic but comfortable accommodation in two-person or four-person bunkrooms or larger (and cheaper) dorms, substantial and reasonably priced meals including packed lunch, excellent drying facilities, and (at the Rifugio Teodulo on the Tour of Monte Rosa, shown) a terrace with a view of the Matterhorn. sac-cas.ch/en/hutsand-tours; ffcam.fr/refuges-chalets.html; rifugios.net
THE ALPS – BIVAKHÜTTE
Bothies but better
‘Bivouac huts’ are aimed more at mountaineers, are found at higher altitudes, and sometimes have a roped climb to reach them. They are unstaffed, first come first served. Imagine a mountain bothy, and then be astonished when you find mattresses with blankets and even a cooker with a gas supply. (Pictured: Bivacco Anghileri e Rusconi, on the Swiss-Italian border above Poschiavo.)
NORWAY
Scotland but with huts
Norway’s Jotunheimen mountains are a bit like Scotland, but bigger in every direction – bigger mountains, longer valleys, deeper sea lochs, and the occasional icefield. Mountain huts run by the DNT (Norwegian Trekking Association) are expensive – until you get into one of the privately run ones, which are really expensive. Elsewhere in Norway the DNT runs a network of unstaffed honesty-box style huts. english.dnt.no
(Pictured: above Gjende lake, Jotunheimen.)
PICOS DE EUROPA
Pick of the best
The Picos de Europa are small but strenuous: towering limestone, deep-cut ravines, and shattered rock pavement underfoot. The huts are as good as in the Alps, even if not all are as quirky as the Cabaña Veronica shown – converted from a gun turret on a WW2 aircraft carrier. reservarefugios.com
ATLAS MOUNTAINS
Huts – or hovels?
The huts in Morocco’s Atlas Mountains really are huts – when they aren’t hovels, barns, caves or simple open sheds. Normal trekking style involves a hired mule and muleteer. Combined with the hot, dry climate this makes for a comfortable camping style where a roof overhead doesn’t much matter. The hiking too is on the easy side, with a light daypack and long rest through the mid-day heat. (Pictured: on the southern side of Toubkal.)
TATRA MOUNTAINS
Lakeland but with huts
These magnificent granite hills span the border of Poland and Slovakia. The huts here are known, charmingly, as cottages; though as in the Alps they are basically off-road hotels.
This compact range is the main mountain ground for Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, and is very busy – think Lake District, but with huts like Przedni Staw in Poland (shown) and some superb via-ferrata-style mountain ridges as well. travelslovakia.sk/blog/high-tatra-mountains-huts
SIERRA NEVADA (SPAIN)
Bothies, but more basic
If you thought Scottish bothies were as basic as it gets, think again. The stone huts such as Piedra Partida (above) in Spain’s southern mountain range have no facilities at all; not even, regrettably, the traditional bothy spade. But when you’re caught in one of the range’s afternoon thunderstorms, you won’t be bothered by the ibex droppings in the bedspace. spanishhighs.co.uk/ mountain-huts-refugessierra-nevada.html
USA
No huts at all
In America everything’s big. The huge empty spaces often have well-marked trails, but otherwise there’s no hiking infrastructure at all. Access is often controlled by permit, which tends to give a lonely and intense wilderness experience. Oh, and in many places you have to carry your food in your own bear canister or stash it in a bear box to avoid the wrong paws getting on it. Above: one of just three permitted backcountry campgrounds in Elephant Canyon, Utah.
JULIAN ALPS
Dolomites, but different
Slovenia isn’t Slovakia, though the languages are fairly similar. At the east end of the Alps, these limestone mountains offer wooded valleys, via ferrata scrambling, and a well-equipped hut system. As in the Dolomites, there are remnants of World War One in the Socˇa Valley. Away from ones serving Triglav (like Dom Planika, above), the huts are smaller and more intimate than in the main Alps. en.pzs.si/vsebina.php?pid=3