Trekking in the Zillertal Alps. Allan Hartley

on very rare occasions will you be asked to move on by the Huettenwirt, but only when bed space has been secured at an adjacent hut and only when there is sufficient daylight for you to reach your destination.

      At the hut you will also require a sheet sleeping bag or Schlafsack for use with the blankets and bedding which the hut provides. This is to minimise the amount of washing required and any water pollution downsteam of the hut. The sheet sleeping bag is a compulsory requirement, and if you do not have one the Huettenwirt will tell you to hire one.

      You will also need to bring with you a pair of lightweight shoes or a pair of socks to wander around the hut, as boots upstairs are strictly forbidden (Verboten).

      Each hut will have some form of male and female washrooms and toilet facilities, which vary from excellent at the Berliner and Olperer Huts to more modest at Friesenberg Haus and Greizer Huts. Elsewhere in the hut, usually near the front door, is the drying room (Trockenraum), where wet clothes can be dried.

      The heart and soul of the hut is the dining room (Gaste Stube). Here you will find all manner of activities going on – from groups planning their next day, people celebrating a climb or a birthday, to people just chatting. It is a feeling best described by the German word ‘Gemutlichkeit’, which means ‘homely’ and ‘friendly’, and is something that is fostered and cherished throughout the whole of Austria.

      At the end of your stay remember to make your bed and fold your blankets, to look around to make sure nothing is forgotten, and to search out the Huettenwirt and thank him and his staff for a pleasant stay. Remember to collect your membership card if it has not been given back to you. You should then fill in the hut book to record your stay and to indicate where you are going next.

      Hut information and reservations

      At Friesenberg Haus (ZRR Stage 7)

      As more and more huts in the Zillertal develop websites and are accessible by email, it is easier than ever to check for up-to-date hut information and make a reservation (see the Hut Directory, at the end of this guide, and Appendix B for contact details). For small groups of three or four people it is not necessary to make a reservation at the huts. However, groups of six plus are strongly advised to make contact with the hut before they go by post (sending a prepaid stamped addressed envelope for a reply), telephone, email or the hut website.

      It is worth noting that members are allowed only three consecutive nights at any one hut, although this is not strictly enforced.

      Cancellations

      Because huts can be booked over the internet and by telephone, abuse of this facility is beginning to become an issue. When reservations are made and people do not turn up, this results not just in a loss of business for the huts but also in a significant waste of food. Some huts are now asking for deposits to offset some of this risk. It is worth noting that in Austrian law if you make a reservation and do not allow adequate time for a cancellation then you are still liable to pay the bill in full or in part. Remember that most huts are businesses, and it is only polite, if you have to cancel your reservation, to make every effort to contact the hut to inform them. If not, don’t be surprised if you get billed.

      Meals and menus

      All huts have some sort of restaurant service to cover the three daily meals, breakfast (Fruehstuck), lunch (Mittagessen) and dinner (Abendessen).

      Breakfast is served from about 06.00 to about 07.30. Thereafter no meals are available until lunchtime as the hut staff are busy with general house-keeping. Breakfast is the meal generally regarded as the worst value for money – but unless you are carrying your own provisions you will have little choice other than to accept it.

      Lunchtime is usually from 12.00 to 14.00, but varies depending on the hut. However, it is possible to purchase simple meals like soup, Kase Brot and Apfelstrudl at most of the huts throughout the afternoon.

      Dinner is the main meal of the day and is generally served from 18.00 to 19.30. In addition to meals listed on the menu, Bergsteigeressen will be available. Literally translated it means ‘mountain climbers’ food’, and is a low-priced meal containing a minimum of 500 calories. The meal generally comprises spaghetti or pasta, potatoes, some meat or sausage, and sometimes a fried egg or a dumpling. There is no hard-and-fast rule to this meal – other than it is relatively inexpensive and that there is usually a lot of it!

      Breakfast usually comprises two or three slices of bread, a portion of butter, jam and cheese, with a choice of tea or coffee. If you do not finish it, take it with you – as you have paid for it all! Lunch and dinner are the main meals of the day and are served with a selection of vegetables or salad, and there will be vegetarian (Vegetarische) options. Drinks are served in quarter (Viertel) or half (Halbe) litres, or large (Gross) or small (Klein), and maybe hot (Heiss) or cold (Kalt). Tea, coffee, hot chocolate, lemonade, cola, beer, wine and schnapps are all available at the huts. See Appendix C, which lists many items found on a typical hut menu (Speisekarte), as well as some useful words and phrases for reading menus or ordering food and drink.

      Generally the procedure for ordering meals is that you first organise a table. There is no formality, but sometimes when mountaineering training courses are being run, groups of tables may be marked ‘private’ (Privat) or ‘reserved’ (Reservierung). Having sat down, one of the waitresses (Fraulein) will take your order. Alternatively, you may have to go to the counter or kitchen (Kuche) to order, or there may be a sign saying ‘Selbsbedienungs’ (‘self-service’).

      Because of the excellent service the huts provide very little of one’s own food needs to be carried. However, many people do take with them their own basic rations – tea, coffee, bread, cheese, and so on. This allows them to make their own snacks and, by borrowing cups and purchasing eine litre teewasser, allows them to brew up for a small cost.

      The only facility not provided at huts is for self-catering, and it does seem a little pointless when all the meals are reasonably priced.

      The general rule is to pay an accumulative bill for food and drink. Visitors are therefore advised to make notes of their consumption to aid checking at the time of payment. Take note, these bills/lists can be considerable when staying at a hut for more than a couple of nights.

      As a guideline for working out a budget, typical meal price lists can be obtained from the UK Section of the Austrian Alpine Club (www.aacuk.org.uk). At the time of writing, the cost of dinner in a hut was similar to prices in most British pubs for a decent bar meal plus drinks. Half board is currently €35–40, depending on the category of the hut.

Maps and guidebooks

      The following maps are required for both tours in this guide. The maps are published by the Austrian Alpine Club and available from the UK Section of the Austrian Alpine Club (www.aacuk.org.uk).

      Maps

Alpenvereinskarte Zillertal Alpen
Sheet 35/1	Westliches (West)	scale 1:25,000
Sheet 35/2	Mittler (Central)	scale 1:25,000

      Also recommended, covering the complete region at a glance and available from major map retailers, are

       Freytag & Berndt Wanderkarte: Sheet 152, scale 1:50,000, Mayrhofen, Zillertal Alpen, Gerlos-Krimml

       Kompass Wanderkarte: Sheet 37, scale 1:50,000, Zillertaler Alpen; Tuxer Alpen

      Books

      For