her off, and she came to develop a taste for hut life, describing it as ‘that queer existence in between the luxuries of low, well-found camping and the high bivouacs of the pioneers.’ She went on to explain to the uninitiated that there would be a pail with which to collect water from a spring or, one drop at a time, from the recesses of a crevasse. And she described eating by the light of a candle off a bare table stained with use; and sleeping side by side on mattresses stuffed with straw. Lest such privation should put her readers off, she conjured up the romance of those ‘golden hours when, thousands of feet above the rest of the world, you can look out at evening from your nest upon mountains that then seem peculiarly your own.’ It was for moments like these that men and women were prepared to accept the privations of a night or two marooned above the clouds.
The modern Gleckstein Hut (www.gleckstein.ch) is a far cry from the short-lived Capanna Maria on the Disgrazia, or the old Couvercle refuge with its magnificent views in the heart of the Mont Blanc range. Serving climbers tackling the Wetterhorn above Grindelwald, the Gleckstein Hut not only claims a spectacular location high above a glacier gorge at 2317m, but is surprisingly roomy and with decent facilities that include showers and four-course evening meals. Despite its location and the exposed nature of its approach, it is a large building with 80 places, originally built in 1904 as a hotel. At the time, there were ambitious plans to create a four-stage passenger cableway to the summit of the Wetterhorn, and one of the intermediate stations was to have been built close to where the hut stands today. But with the outbreak of World War I, the enterprise was abandoned and with few visitors the hotel closed in 1916. Four years later it was taken over by the Burgdorf section of the SAC to serve as the Gleckstein Hut.
Originally built as a hotel, the Gleckstein Hut in Switzerland has a fine view of the Schreckhorn
Although its original aim was to provide accommodation for climbers, like so many other alpine huts the Gleckstein has become a popular destination for adventurous walkers and is suggested as an optional there-and-back stage for trekkers tackling the Tour of the Jungfrau Region. One of the reasons for this popularity – apart from the attraction of the hut itself – is the comparatively short (3-hour) but spectacular approach walk, which cuts along the precipitous wall of the Upper Grindelwald glacier’s gorge. Narrow and exposed in places, it is safeguarded by fixed cables, at one point passes beneath a waterfall, and has exciting views throughout. On one of my visits, I sat on a rock halfway along the gorge wall and listened to the sounds of an alpenhorn echoing from one side of the valley to the other. The following morning, I opened the hut door to find half a dozen ibex licking salt from the balcony wall.
Huts for watching wildlife
A tough 5-hour climb to reach a remote hut for a sighting of a solitary ibex (see ‘Where ibex roam’) may be a bit extreme, but I’ve also studied from close quarters a dozen or more of these stocky yet incredibly agile creatures in the autumn rut just below the summit of Piz Languard. This walkers’ mountain high above Pontresina is served by the simple 24-bed Georgy Hut (www.georgy-huette.ch), lodged near the top at 3202m, with an extensive panoramic view dominated by the snowy giants of Piz Palü and Piz Bernina across the valley.
Despite having a reasonable path right to the summit, Piz Languard still involves a steep ascent of over 1450m, so it’s good to know that not far from here a comparatively easy 3½-hour walk goes from the Engadine village of Zernez to the log-cab-
‘Gleckstein has become a popular destination for adventurous walkers’
in-like Chamanna Cluozza (www.nationalpark.ch) in the heart of the Swiss National Park, with virtually guaranteed views of red and roe deer, chamois, marmot and ibex along the way. A walk of similar length from Cogne – some of it on an old mule track in Italy’s Gran Paradiso National Park – leads to Rifugio Vittorio Sella (www.rifugiosella.com), one of the best places in all the Alps from which to study wildlife in comfort. Of an evening, scores of ibex and chamois may be seen grazing near the converted stables that make up this 150-bed hut, used by trekkers following the Gran Paradiso Alta Via 2 (not to be confused with the Dolomites Alta Via 2). Meanwhile, across the border in the Vanoise National Park in France, ibex, chamois and marmots can often be spied around the Col de la Vanoise and from several of the refuges that border the Doron gorge above Termignon – especially Refuge de l’Arpont (www.refuges-vanoise.com), a national-park-owned building renovated in 2013, which looks towards a series of waterfalls pouring over cliffs below the Vanoise glaciers.
The warden at the Gleckstein Hut spreads salt on the terrace wall to attract ibex in the early morning
At the head of the gorge on the eastern side of the valley, and nestling on rough pasture below the 3855m Grande Casse, the privately owned Refuge Entre Deux Eaux (www.refugeentredeuxeaux.com) is another old farm used as a refuge by trekkers following the ultra-long distance GR5, and by others straying from the splendid Tour of the Vanoise. Although not as promising for watching wildlife as Arpont, Entre Deux Eaux would be hard to beat so far as atmosphere is concerned. It is a charming, 100-year-old building, comfortably quirky and with an aura of peace that makes it a perfect haven in which to relax for a day or two.
Where ibex roam
Ibex (bouquetin in French, Steinbock in German) can often be seen grazing near huts. The wonderful Rottal Hut is one such hut, but being set 1800m above the Lauterbrunnen Valley, it’s quite a haul simply to watch wildlife, although the hut and its literally breathtaking location make all the effort to get there worthwhile.
I was in the area one summer on a writing assignment with a small group making a tour of the Bernese Alps. Although a day’s rest was on the itinerary when we arrived in the Lauterbrunnen Valley, I knew that a route to the Rottal Hut began not far from Stechelberg. With a reputation for having a spectacular location, the hut was, until then, one I’d only read about but longed to visit. I figured that if I could get an early lift to the roadhead, there was the possibility of making a quick there-and-back visit. Well, with more than 1800m of height to gain, the ascent might not be all that quick, but I’d give it a go, and I’d be travelling light with only the bare necessities in a small rucksack. I was also considerably younger than I am now, and fit and agile as an ibex.
So shortly after dawn next morning, I and two others left the campsite while everyone else was sleeping, and headed upvalley to the roadhead. From there, a riverside path teased us away from the village, but the gentle nature of the trail didn’t last long, and within minutes of setting out, we were racing one another up a steep grassy slope before making a rising traverse to reach an alpine farmer’s stone hut some 600m above the river. That left 1200m still to climb, but the views were growing with every step.
Now we cut left to enter a broad gully rising wedge-like at its head, which eventually took us to a band of abrupt, near-vertical crags split by a much tighter gully. This we climbed with the aid of fixed ropes and chains, and emerged to find a clear path winding up an old moraine rib. It continued along the crest of the moraine that flanked the Rottal glacier, then up a steep snow slope headed by a small cliff. Another fixed rope aided the ascent of these rocks, and less than 5 hours after leaving Stechelberg, we arrived at the Rottal Hut, where the first of several huge flasks of tea was soon placed before us by the part-time warden who was there just for the weekend.
At an altitude of 2755m, the Rottal Hut is very much a climbers’ hut used for tackling routes on the Jungfrau, Ebnefluh and Gletscherhorn. With 34 places, it’s only manned at weekends in summer, although with self-catering facilities and a wood-burning stove it’s open for use at other times.
But on this occasion we were not there to climb, to stay the night or even to prepare a meal. Just being there to soak