A mountain hut is a building located at high elevation, in mountainous terrain, generally accessible only by foot, intended to provide food and shelter to mountaineers , climbers and hikers . Mountain huts are usually operated by an Alpine Club or some organization dedicated to hiking or mountain recreation. They are known by many names, including alpine hut , mountain shelter , mountain refuge , mountain lodge , and mountain hostel . It may also be called a refuge hut , although these occur in lowland areas (e.g. lowland forests) too.
13-638: The Chanrion Hut French: ( Cabane de Chanrion ) is a mountain hut located in the upper Val de Bagnes in the canton of Valais in Switzerland . It lies in an isolated area south of Lac de Mauvoisin at an altitude of 2,462 metres, at the foot of Pointe d'Otemma . The easiest access is from the north (road to Mauvoisin). The hut is owned by the Swiss Alpine Club . 45°56′21″N 7°22′51″E / 45.93917°N 7.38083°E / 45.93917; 7.38083 This Valais location article
26-562: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Mountain hut 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
39-508: 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). 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. There are many huts in
52-702: Is open for public use on Table Mountain in South Africa, part of Table Mountain National Park . List of mountains in Poland Two major mountain ranges populate Poland's south-east and south-west borders, respectively: the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains mountain ranges . Those ranges are located both within and outside of Poland. Within Poland, neither of them is forbidding enough to prevent substantial habitation;
65-695: The United States , for example in the Rocky Mountains , the Appalachian Mountains and other ranges. The High Huts of the White Mountains 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. The Alpine Club of Canada operates what it calls
78-657: The "largest network of backcountry huts in North America." The New Zealand Department of Conservation "manages a network of over 950 huts of all shapes and sizes." 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. Many places in Africa have hiking huts but they are usually privately owned and require payment and reservations. At least one hut
91-651: The Carpathians are especially densely populated. The rugged form of the Sudeten range derives from the geological shifts that formed the later Carpathian uplift. The Carpathians in Poland, formed as a discrete topographical unit in the relatively recent Tertiary Era , are the highest mountains in the country. They are the northernmost edge of a much larger range that extends into the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, Hungary , and Romania . The Świętokrzyskie Mountains , one of
104-938: The UK have such huts in Snowdonia or in the Lake District . A well-known example is the Charles Inglis Clark Memorial Hut (the 'CIC Hut') - a purpose-built hut below the northern crags of Ben Nevis in Scotland . In the past, some shelters in Scotland were built in exposed locations at high elevation, often as part of military training exercises. However, and particularly following the 1971 Cairngorm Plateau Disaster , these were deliberately demolished because they were thought to pose dangers exceeding their benefits. The Norwegian Trekking Association operates about 460 cabins mostly in
117-872: The Valais Alps is the highest alpine refuge at 4,554 m, the Rifugio Mario Premuda in Trieste is the lowest refuge in the Alps at 82 m (both are owned by the Italian Alpine Club ). In the United Kingdom the tradition is of unwardened "climbing huts" providing fairly rudimentary accommodation (but superior to that of a bothy ) close to a climbing ground; the huts are usually conversions (e.g. of former quarrymen's cottages, or of disused mine buildings), and are not open to passers-by except in emergency. Many climbing clubs in
130-470: The high mountain pastures served for Alpine transhumance . The long history of mountaineering from the 19th century onwards has led to a large number of Alpine club huts as well as private huts along the mountaineering paths. These huts are categorised according to their location and facilities. They may have beds or a mattress room ( Matratzenlager ) for overnight stays. Just as the Margherita Hut in
143-658: The mid-19th century. The Swiss Alpine Club has built huts since 1863. In the United States, the Appalachian Mountain Club built its first hut at Madison Spring in New Hampshire in 1889. The construction of refuges and shelters in the Alps date back to ancient times, when Roman roads led across the mountain passes. In the High Middle Ages , hospitales were erected along the trade routes; cottages and sheds on
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#1733085454168156-628: The mountains and in forested areas, of which about 400 have lodgings. Many cabins are unstaffed and open all year, while the staffed cabins often are just open during summer. 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
169-652: The oldest mountain ranges in Europe, are located in central Poland , in the vicinity of the city of Kielce . The mountain range consists of a number of separate ranges, the highest of which is Łysogóry (lit. bald mountains ). Together with the Jura Krakowsko-Częstochowska the mountains form a region called the Lesser Poland Upland ( Wyżyna Małopolska ). They were formed during the Caledonian orogeny of
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