The Swiss Alps. Kev Reynolds

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      Zmutt, a traditional alp hamlet above Zermatt

      Communal dormitories of varying size are common to all. While bedding such as pillows, mattresses, blankets or duvets is provided, users should bring their own thin sleeping bag liner for reasons of hygiene. Toilet and washing facilities vary widely. At lower altitudes many washrooms have hot and cold running water; some have showers and indoor flush toilets, while facilities in general are more limited and basic the higher you go. Bivouacking is not allowed within 400m of a hut.

      At staffed huts a full meals service is usually available, with alcoholic drinks as well as a range of hot and cold beverages and a limited variety of snacks for sale. A continental-style breakfast is the norm, but a substantial three- or even four-course evening meal can be expected. Vegetarian meals may be provided if sufficient advanced warning is given. Meal times are usually fixed, with a schedule of breakfast timings (eg 4.00am–7.00am) for climbers arranged according to their chosen route. On occasion a warden will leave out a thermos of hot drink and a plate of breakfast food for those planning an even earlier departure. Given the difficulty and cost of provisioning mountain huts, the price of food and drinks will almost certainly be higher than in the valleys. To keep costs down, some parties carry tea bags and/or coffee sachets and make their own drinks with hot water bought from the warden, others bring snack food from the valley to eat during the day.

      There are no self-catering facilities in staffed huts, and personal cooking stoves are not allowed inside or immediately outside the building. Simple food brought to the hut may be prepared on a climber’s behalf by the warden for a small charge, but this can be really inconvenient, especially during the busy main season.

      Reductions of up to 50% on overnight fees at SAC huts are given to members of other affiliated European alpine clubs, and to BMC members (www.thebmc.co.uk) who have pre-purchased a reciprocal rights card. Anyone planning to spend six nights or more in SAC huts will find membership of an alpine club to be financially beneficial. Note that membership of the UK branch of the Austrian Alpine Club (www.aacuk.org.uk) is one of the cheapest to join, with benefits including free mountain rescue insurance. (See also www.swiss-sport.ch/sac-cas for details of the Swiss Alpine Club.)

      As a matter of courtesy reservations should be made in advance at all manned huts in order to help the staff plan their catering arrangements. A telephone call is usually all that’s expected, and most tourist office staff and hut wardens are happy to phone ahead for you. A frosty welcome may greet climbers who arrive unannounced, other than in an emergency. Should you be forced to abandon your plans, you are expected to call the warden to cancel your reservation.

      Outside the staffed period a ‘winter room’ is usually left unlocked. Bunks with blankets are all that should then be expected, although some winter rooms also have a wood-burning stove, a supply of firewood and an axe. Parties must take their own food and stove to bivouac huts, but crockery and cookware are provided.

      Hut conventions

      To book a place in a mountain hut, telephone in advance. Phone numbers are normally listed in area guidebooks, otherwise check at the nearest tourist office. Hut wardens will usually phone ahead on your behalf. In the high season, it may be necessary to book several weeks ahead for huts serving the most popular routes.

      On arrival leave boots, ice axe, crampons, trekking poles or skis in the boot room/ski room or porch, and select a pair of hut shoes or clogs usually provided for indoor wear. Sometimes rucksacks are not allowed beyond the boot room, in such cases a basket will be provided. Leave your sack in the porch, place essentials in the basket and take this inside with you. As John Barry advises: ‘Keep tabs on your gear, in the early morning scramble it is all too easy for someone to mistakenly take your axe – especially if it is a better model than their own – and it is not unknown for boots to walk away on the wrong feet’ (Alpine Climbing).

      Locate the warden to announce your arrival and to book whatever meals are required.

      Once a room has been allocated (some wardens specify a particular bunk to use), make your bed using the sleeping bag liner carried for the purpose, and keep a torch handy as the room may not be lit when you need to go there in the dark.

      It is customary to pay for services (overnight fee and meals) before going to bed. Cash payments are normal, although at a number of huts it is possible to pay with a credit card (check first).

      Lights out and silence in dormitories is usually expected from 10.00pm.

Maps and Guidebooks

      Maps

      Swiss cartography is world class, with national survey maps published by the Federal Office of Topography (www.swisstopo.ch) covering the whole country with sheets of several different scales: 1:25,000, 1:50,000, 1:100,000 and 1:200,000.