Episode 11 of Mountain Voices takes a deep dive into the mountain hut culture of the Alps. What makes a great hut? Why do huts exist? What impact is climate change having on hut operations and maintenance?
Part one features Ben Tibbetts, an IFMGA mountain guide and a photographer, artist and writer based in Chamonix, France. Ben has published a number of books dedicated to his passion for huts, notably ‘4000m peaks of the Alps guidebook’ and coming soon Volume 1 of Cabin Wild – West Mediterranean to Mont Blanc. Available to pre-order here. Ben is joined by UIAA Management Board member and FFCAM (Fédération Française des clubs alpins et de montagne ) Board member Jean Miczka, a hut expert who has written a thesis dedicated to how mountain guides are adapting their activities due to climate change.
In part two, Marion Herren, a hut specialist working for the Swiss Alpine Club (SAC), provides an overview of the federation’s network of huts across the Alps, the current challenges faced in operating huts and what makes these locations so compelling.
Links to publications by Ben Tibbetts:
https://www.bentibbetts.com/4000m-peaks-of-the-alps-guidebook/
https://www.bentibbetts.com/product/cabin-wild-alpine-bivouac-huts/
Climate change case studies/huts by the UIAA:
https://www.theuiaa.org/german-alpine-club-setting-standards-in-climate-action/
https://www.theuiaa.org/climate-change-case-study-abbot-pass-hut/
https://www.theuiaa.org/the-cost-of-climate-change-the-story-of-the-swiss-alpine-clubs-huts/
Details on hut exchange project for UIAA members:
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