Staying in Alpine Huts: An introduction

Walking guides - see all our background pages

The experience

The curious quiet of living high in the mountains; Alpine Choughs circling ahead, or possibly the sound of cow bells from across the valley; these combine with the mild but actually invigourating privations of communal living, to give hut life its memorable character. Staying in an Alpine hut is a key part of the experience.

Making huts comfier

Dormitories versus private rooms
The evening glow over the hills... the clear morning air... but without sharing a large dorm? It is possible and it's a common request! We advise with care about the options on each of our treks, to maximise the number of private bunk-bedded rooms for 2, 4 or 6 people as opposed to dormitories. At other points, there might be dorm-only huts that can't be avoided without major changes to your overall schedule. We'll advise on all the possibilities.

Avoiding all huts
If you would rather avoid huts altogether, please do ask us for options; this may mean walking further or using cable cars, buses, trains or taxis to reach the nearest hotel. The options vary a lot from hut to hut.

As rough guidance and assuming our normal itineraries:

On our UK treks there are no huts; we book private rooms in our hotels, B&Bs and guesthouses each night. Some trips allow a night or two in a hostel, whether in dormitories or private rooms, so please ask us if you'd like to add this economical option. Further, the Coast to Coast passes the Black Sail Hut which is a rare example of a mountain hut in the UK. Please ask for more details on this.

Private rooms, bunk rooms and sleeping platforms

Three broad categories of accommodation exist in the huts, to further distinguish between dorms and private rooms:

A private room might have one double bed, 2 bunk beds, two single (narrow) beds on either side, or might be a larger room for 4, 6 or 8 people but still private for your group.

In the category of dorms, there is a distinction between two types:
(a) A bunk room where you stay in bunkbeds, often unassigned (first ones in get the pick) and where you might be on top or bottom.
(b) A sleeping platform where you stay on wide wooden platforms with mattresses, or one series of mattresses all the way across, on which everyone takes a slot. Blankets and pillows are of course individual but otherwise nothing separates you from the person next door. This is the most communal style.

Huts have a duty to provide accommodation to anyone who needs it - they couldn't be left outside in the cold - and, as a result, can be quite busy and a little cramped. It's hard for the hut to know whether it will be under, at, or over-capacity any night. It's all part of the alpine experience. Even in private rooms, beds can be arranged in odd configurations to maximise the number of people accommodated, and conditions elsewhere in the hut can be very cramped.

What to pack

Our info packs explain the exact requirements for each hut on your schedule. In advance of this, we advise that the needs for huts in general are very light. They amount chiefly to a sheet liner, your toothbrush and a bit of shampoo, and any spare clothes. We'll explain more below.

Hut etiquette... 'Hutiquette'

Certain rules govern life in the hut, spoken or unspoken. These stem from the demands of location and are really just common sense. (It is important to remember that the huts are remote and often have to fly in provisions and fuel for generators by helicopter at huge costs.) If you think of your fellow guests and their likely reason for being there (trekking) then all will make sense. Chiefly, the considerations are:

Sheet liners are needed on all of our Alpine and Scandinavian trips when staying in a hut. In our early years pre-2010, some huts still supplied paper sheets or real linen, but steadily the system of guests packing in their own sheet liners has become near-universal. This saves the huts on laundry. The huts provide duvets or blankets, and pillows, so there is no need to take anything bulky other than the sheet liner up to a hut. (By sheet liner we mean 'sleep sack' or any form of sheet that you wish. Light nylon or silk ones can be bought in Chamonix or other base towns.)

No boots inside the hut, to save on cleaning the floors. Socks are fine and huts usually provide a few slippers; some trekkers bring their own.

No noise after a certain time so that trekkers can sleep early and rise early. If your hut also serves climbers on glaciated routes, the early-to-early rule is even more stark.

Once into the swing of things, you'll find yourself loving the hut atmosphere... 'hutmosphere'. (Sorry...)

Hut craft

Above the basic considerations of etiquette, or the rules of your warden, there is a knack to staying in a hut. Clients receive in their info packs our suggestions for better hut life. Here are some of our pro tips:

Keep a neat dorm space to minimise disturbance to other guests and that early-morning rustling of plastic bags! It can be wise to take a torch if you might go to bed later than others, or to know where yours is.

Bags outside is a rule you'll come across at some huts, or at least bags left in the vestibule, to keep the dormitory neat and spacious. This is a harder one to get used to after urban living, but in practice bags can be left safely in many places in the hills!

Power packs for charging phones can get around the often small number of sockets/outlets in the huts.

Ear plugs can be useful to block out snorers...

Wet wipes can bridge the gap between huts with showers... and huts without! In fact the majority of our huts have showers, some with a token system with a small charge, and not always with reliably hot water. There can also be a long wait for the one or two showers.

Water

Water is a key consideration in the hills; there is always a way, and we do not feel the need to recommend water purifying equipment or drinking from streams in general, on any of our routes (2020).

Our higher huts are sometimes without a running water supply or more than a trickle for tooth-brushing. These huts sell bottled water, usually at a premium. They also sell beer and coffee - a modicum of caution is advised as a trekker might need hydration first - and plentiful soups and squashes/juices. Taking a flask lets you buy hot water for tea and let it cool: an economical system.

Food

Dinner
It is typical in the French, Swiss and Austrian Alps to take half-board at huts. This means that your bunk, your dinner and your breakfast come as one package - but not drinks or lunch. At dinner and breakfast, everyone eats the same, or chooses from one or two options, in effect a set menu. The quality and quantity vary among huts, sometimes being quite simple.

In Italian and Slovenian huts it's more common to choose dinner and breakfast dishes from the menu, and pay accordingly. (At such huts, for example on the Alta Via 1, our trips include a free choice from the menu.)

Breakfast
Breakfast at some huts, especially in the French or Italian Alps, is often very basic and we recommend you take some snacks to supplement your breakfast on those mornings.

Diets
The huts and auberges are getting better at catering for dietary requirements, and on reserving your group we tell huts of the group's diets. Generally it works well. However, it's hard to guarantee that all huts can cater for requirements beyond vegetarian. Please chat to our team for further advice hut-by-hut.

Variations across the Alps

Reciprocal rights
If you have a hut reciprocal rights card (through the Austrian Alpine Club, British Mountaineering Council or other organisation) please let us know: huts normally give a discount on the dorm/room fees, not food or drink, of around one third. On most of our treks including the Tour du Mont Blanc and Walker's Haute Route, all or most huts are private or don't accept cards that aren't of your own national mountaineering association. However, in Slovenia and Austria we are able to reduce your price by the amount of these reductions, and we'll let you know the exact amount as we proceed with your booking.

Paying in Slovenia
In some of our Slovenian huts there is no mechanism to pay the huts apart from cash during the stay; in these cases, typically 1 or 2 per trip, we ask self-guided clients to pay their wardens directly for everything. We still make the reservations, we advise on how many euros to take up to the huts, and we reflect this in the trip price. On our guided Slovenian trips, of course your leader pays for the group.

Abstemiousness
Not so much in the Alps, but in some huts of Eastern Europe, there is a convention of not eating more than one's fair share. This is in recognition of supplies coming either via helicopter or on someone's back. In contrast, portions in the Alps are often plentiful and you might be surprised by how elaborate some meals are!

Intrigued?

Alpine Exploratory offers several holidays which include stays in Alpine Huts. Please email us at info@alpineexploratory.com to chat about the hut options on our different trips. We like to encourage our clients to try as many huts as fits their schedule.

To make the most of Alpine huts:
Alta Via 1 - Comfy hut to hut trip in the Italian Dolomites
Julian Alps Hut to Hut - Explore the mountain huts of Slovenia
Tour of the Vanoise - Our new hut based trip in France

For a mix of huts and hotels:
Tour du Mont Blanc - Trek around the Mont Blanc massif with 4 huts
Walker's Haute Route - From Chamonix to Zermatt with 4 huts
The Adlerweg - Hike across the Austrian Tyrol staying in 5 huts