Low expectations for high life in Swiss mountain huts

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A helicopter transports material for the construction of the water purification system of the SAC Terri hut. (Keystone/Arno Balzarini) Keystone / Arno Balzarini

Guests relax in the recreation room of the Saoseo hut in Val di Campo in southeastern Switzerland near the Italian border. (Keystone/Arno Balzarini) Keystone / Arno Balzarini

A signpost indicating the way to three mountain huts of the Swiss Alpine Club (SAC). (Keystone/Arno Balzarini) Keystone / Arno Balzarini

Preparing food in the old Fridolin mountain hut built in 1890, located in canton Glarus in eastern Switzerland. (Keystone/Arno Balzarini) Keystone / Arno Balzarini

A helicopter brings provisions to the Laemmeren hut, above the Gemmi Pass. (Keystone / Christian Beutler) Keystone / Christian Beutler

Guests enjoy the view of the Moiry Glacier right before their eyes, at the Moiry mountain hut in the Valais Alps. (Keystone/Anthony Anex) Keystone / Anthony Anex

Hut employees make up the beds in a dormitory of the Saoseo hut. Social distancing means not all of the beds will be occupied this summer. (Keystone / Arno Balzarini) Keystone / Arno Balzarini

Construction materials for the 2017 renovation of the Laemmeren hut had to be flown in by helicopter. (Keystone / Christian Beutler) © Keystone / Christian Beutler

Enjoying a break at the Corno Gries hut in the southern canton of Ticino. (Heintz Jean/Hemis.fr) Heintz Jean / Hemis.fr

An assistant prepares salad for the guests in the kitchen of the Saoseo hut. (Keystone/Arno Balzarini) Keystone / Arno Balzarini

The Gelten hut in the Bernese Alps. (Keystone/Francoise Funk-salami) Keystone / Francoise Funk-salami

Mountaineers only: The Solvay on the flank of the Matterhorn is one of the many bivouacs in the high Alps providing basic shelter for climbers. (Keystone/Alessandro Della Bella) Keystone / Alessandro Della Bella

Climbers hang wet clothing on the washing line in front of the SAC's Schoenbiel hut above Zermatt. (Keystone / Arno Balzarini) Keystone / Arno Balzarini

Helicopters (here above the Laemmeren hut) are a lifeline for the huts, supplying them with provisions and building materials. Keystone / Christian Beutler

Guests enjoy the sunset from the Gelmer hut in the Bernese Alps. The lodge was built in 1926. (Keystone/Anthony Anex) Keystone / Anthony Anex

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Swiss Alpine huts are not exactly putting out the welcome mat, warning that visitors can only come if they bring a mask, disinfectant, and their own sleeping bag liners. Strange times call for strange measures, and mountain refuge operators say they are happy to at least open their doors again.

The huts were included among the businesses which the government allows to reopen from May 11, offering the kind of cosy, full-service lodging found in few other of the world’s mountain ranges.

There are approximately 250 huts in Switzerland, part of a network across the Alps numbering about 1,200. They provide beds for tens of thousands of hikers and climbers, often in cramped dormitories where elbow room is at a premium. That, of course, will now change, since social distancing must also be respected in sleeping quarters.

What can be seen as good news for the guest spells financial trouble for the host, since they have high costs operating and maintaining lodgings in often hard-to-reach, elevated places. And their profit margins are low even in the best of seasons when they have to lay out additional mattresses on dining room floors to accommodate everyone who comes knocking.

Only half full 

Christian Wäfler, the hut warden of the Lämmeren hut (see photo gallery), told swissinfo.ch that he expected only a 50% occupancy rate this summer, and yet has had to invest more money than usual in order to pay for additional safety measure including the purchase of plexiglass barriers to put up between tables.

The Lämmeren hut, which sits high above the Gemmi Pass connecting the Bernese with the Valais Alps, is still recouping its CHF2.5 million ($2.57 million) investment for a major renovation carried out in 2017.

The hut owners are for the most part local sections of the Swiss Alpine Club (SAC-CAS). The SAC-CASExternal link is financed largely through the annual fees paid by its 150,000 members as well as income from organised tours and courses it runs; teaching climbing and backcountry skiing techniques, mountain rescue skills and an assortment of other crafts.

Part of the income is set aside for hut renovations, but less money will be available this year due to the forced closure of the lodges in spring. That led to a loss of about CHF7.5 million, according to a recent report by the Swiss public broadcaster, SRF.