A night in a mountain hut, in the majestic high-altitude silence

Simple dishes, essential comforts and the luxury of touching the sky with your finger

For those who visit the mountains, a high-altitude hut is like the lighthouse that, for sailors, stands out ashore. It is a landing and refreshment point, a home away from home. Perhaps the comforts are not those of a five-star hotel, if only because you cannot put a price on the silence and majesty of sunset or sunrise you can enjoy from up there.

Sleeping in a mountain hut | © Mathäus Gartner

A hot dish and lots of smiles

When you arrive at the hut after walking for hours and putting several kilometres under your feet, you can be sure that you will always find simple and restorative dishes to welcome you (we cannot forget that the supplying these hospitality facilities is always challenging).

Here you share your wooden table with other high-altitude travellers, with backpacks in tow and exchanging tales of Alpine enterprises. The awareness of having experienced the same feat, of having worked hard get there is what brings everybody together, from the very first minute. Those who arrive at the hut know that love for the mountains is a precious and uncommon gift, and it is nice to share such a unique passion with those who really know what it means.

And when the lights go out after the sun goes down (even energy must be conserved up here!), we often sleep in the dormitory, on bunk beds that bring to mind times gone by and the pleasure of the essential.

Rifugio Val D'ambiez, Silvio Agostini | © Foto Daniele Lira

Hut dwellers and their mission

The attentive and tanned faces of the hut managers, their advice on the different hike trails and their need to remind everyone that the mountains must always be lived and faced with great prudence, make you feel in good hands, strong and resourceful hands that know and look over the highlands of Trentino.

Hut dwellers have made a mission of their work; they wait for you if you take a bit longer along the way, and make sure that you are in optimal conditions to resume the journey the next day.

Pale di San Martino | © Foto Mathäus Gartner

Step by step

The trails to reach these mountain huts present different challenges. In some cases, it can take hours to reach your destination, as you walk and climb for kilometres and through different altitude variances. Other times, however, you get there with a simple and regenerating walk. But, it can also happen that you have to travel along aided paths, even wearing a harness and helmet.

What matters is that you always set out to reach the hut with full knowledge of the trail ahead of you and the correct equipment always at hand. With these precautions and a little training and preparation you can enjoy the rewarding experience of reaching the hut, the perfect landing place after a day of trekking.

Val di Fassa - Gruppo del Catinaccio - Rifugio Antermoia Foto Federico Modica | © Foto Federico Modica

Sleeping in a mountain hut

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Published on 06/06/2023