Mountain hut
![A mountain hut in the Alps](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/74/Breslauer_H%C3%BCtte_1.jpg/220px-Breslauer_H%C3%BCtte_1.jpg)
A mountain hut is a building located high in the mountains, generally accessible only by foot, intended to provide food and shelter to
Mountain huts can provide a range of services, starting with shelter and simple sleeping berths. Some, particularly in remote areas, are not staffed, but others have staff which prepare meals and drinks and can provide other services, including providing lectures and selling clothing and small items. Mountain huts usually allow anybody to access their facilities, although some require reservations.
While shelters have long existed in mountains, modern hut systems date back to the mid-19th century. The Swiss Alpine Club has built huts since 1863.[1] In the United States, the Appalachian Mountain Club built its first hut at Madison Spring in New Hampshire in 1889.[2]
Huts
The Alps
The construction of refuges and shelters in the
Just as the
Britain
In the
Norway
The Norwegian Trekking Association operates about 460 cabins mostly in the mountains and in forested areas, of which about 400 have lodgings.[5] Many cabins are unstaffed and open all year, while the staffed cabins often are just open during summer.[6]
Poland
In Poland most mountain shelters and huts are run by the Polish Tourist and Sightseeing Society, with some being privately owned. In the Polish mountains, there are about 100 shelters. Most mountain shelters offer multi-person rooms and refreshments. Polish mountain huts are obliged by their own regulations to allow overnight anyone who is not able to find any other place before sunset, but conditions may be spartan (e.g. a mattress in a hall or warm basement).[7]
Slovakia
In Slovakia there is a dense network of mountain huts ("chata") in most mountain and forest regions, serving a culture of hiking. In the past they were managed by the official tourist union, but now are mostly in private hands. Official mountain huts are similar to guest houses and are run by full-time managers. In winter, some refuges are closed.
United States
There are many huts in the United States, for example in the Rocky Mountains,[8] the Appalachian Mountains and other ranges. The High Huts of the White Mountains[9] in New Hampshire are generally "full service" (cooks serve food) through summer and early fall, while some are open the rest of the year as self-service huts, at which hikers bring and prepare their own food.
Canada
The Alpine Club of Canada operates what it calls the "largest network of backcountry huts in North America."[10]
New Zealand
The New Zealand Department of Conservation "manages a network of over 950 huts of all shapes and sizes."[11]
The Himalayas
The mountains of Asia do not have a well-developed system of public mountain huts, although hiking, trekking and mountain climbing are common. In 2015, a competition was launched to design huts that could be located along trekking trails of Nepal.[12]
South Africa
Many places in Africa have hiking huts but they are usually privately owned and require payment and reservations. At least one hut is open for public use on Table Mountain in South Africa, part of Table Mountain National Park.[13]
Gallery
Europe
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Cabane du Trient, Switzerland
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Téryho chata in the Tatra Mountains, Slovakia
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Pasariceva hut on Ivancica mountain inIvancica, Croatia
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Samotnia in theKarkonosze, Poland
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Edelweißerhütte in the Tennen Mountains, Austria
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The Margherita Hut, the highest refuge in the Alps
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The Rifugio Mario Premuda in Trieste, the lowest refuge in the Alps
Latin America
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A refugio atop Tronador, Argentina
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Frey Hut inSan Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina
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Refugio Otto Meiling Stevage, Argentina
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Refugio Perú inPerú
North America
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Greenleaf Hut in the White Mountains of the U.S.
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R.J. Ritchie Hut (Balfour Hut) in Banff National Park
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Shasta Alpine Lodge at Horse Camp on Mount Shasta, California
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Smithsonian Institution Shelter on the summit of Mount Whitney, California
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Mint Glacier Hut in the Talkeetna Mountains, Alaska
Africa
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Mountain cabin on Mount Cameroon.
Oceania, Australia, New Zealand
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Wallace's Hut, Bogong High Plains
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Federation Hut, Mount Feathertop
Asia
See also
- Adirondack lean-to
- Bivouac shelter - a tent, or a permanent structure (e.g., a bivacco in the Italian Alps).
- Bothy - a basic shelter found in rural areas in the United Kingdom, particularly Scotland
- Lean-to
- Log cabin - small house built from logs
- Vernacular architecture - traditional architecture in a particular area
- Wilderness hut - rent-free, open dwelling place for temporary accommodation
References
- ^ The Huts of the Swiss Alpine Club"
- ^ "Timeline of AMC Huts". Retrieved 11 July 2014.
- ^ "Scottish Mountaineering Club". www.smc.org.uk. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
- ISBN 0953453413.
- ^ [1] The Norwegian Trekking Association, retrieved 2 June 2013
- ^ DNT cabins - general information Archived 2015-05-29 at the Wayback Machine The Norwegian Trekking Association, retrieved 2 June 2013
- ^ Regulamin schroniska PTTK [retrieved 2009-12-25]
- ^ 10th Mountain Division Hut Association
- ^ AMC huts
- ^ Alpine Club of Canada
- ^ NZ Department of Conservation "Huts by region"
- ^ Himalayan Mountain Hunt Competition
- ^ MCSA Cape Town: Table Mountain Hut
External links
- Informative website about European mountain huts
Media related to Alpine huts at Wikimedia Commons
Media related to Mountain huts at Wikimedia Commons