Hochjoch-Hospiz

The Hochjoch-Hospiz (also written Hochjochhospiz) is an Alpine Club mountain hut owned and operated by the Berlin section of the Deutscher Alpenverein (German Alpine Club). It stands at 2,412 m above sea level in the rearmost Rofental valley, on the south-eastern slope of the Guslarspitzen in the Weißkamm range of the Ötztal Alps, in the Austrian state of Tyrol. The hut is a listed building and serves as a base for crossing the Hochjoch pass, for climbing the three Guslarspitzen peaks, and as an intermediate station on the route to the Brandenburger Haus. It is also an important staging point on the Ötztal Round Tour (Ötztaler Rundtour) in both summer and winter. The present building opened in 1927, succeeding an earlier shelter built between 1869 and 1872 at about 2,450 m on the opposite (Kreuzberg) slope of the Rofental. That first hut was initiated by Franz Senn and stood on a mule track to the Hochjoch; it was acquired by the then Sektion Mark Brandenburg of the German and Austrian Alpine Club in 1911, was plundered in World War I, and was damaged by slope pressure and avalanches until it became unusable. The new Hochjoch-Hospiz was built on the opposite side of the Rofenache stream and has been extensively renovated, most notably between 2002 and 2004, when it received new building services. Since 2014 it has offered a paid Wi-Fi hotspot. The hut provides 30 beds, 30 mattress dormitory places and 10 emergency places, plus a self-catering and winter room with 8 mattress places. Services include a breakfast buffet and half board, showers and mobile phone reception. It is reached from the village of Vent (1,896 m) on the marked long-distance trail no. 902, a walk of about 2½ to 3 hours via the Rofenhöfe farms and the Rofenschlucht gorge. The ascent path was formerly named after Waldemar Titzenthaler, long-time chairman of the Berlin section; in 2003 it was renamed the Cyprian-Granbichler-Weg as a sign against antisemitism. Supplies were carried by pack animals until the early 1970s and have since been brought in by helicopter. In 2022 the hospice was awarded the environmental seal of approval for Alpine Club huts. The hut is a member of the Alpine-wide hut network and is marketed through the DAV Berlin website and alpenvereinaktiv.com.

The history of the Hochjoch-Hospiz begins with the first shelter built between 1869 and 1872 at about 2,450 m on the south-eastern slope (Kreuzberg) of the Rofental, opposite today's site. It was initiated by Franz Senn and stood on a mule track to the Hochjoch that Senn had financed a few years earlier; in November 1868 Senn's companion Cyprian Granbichler had died of exhaustion after a snowstorm on that route. At the time the Hintereisferner still extended beyond the inflow of the Hochjochbach, and the Hochjochferner reached almost to the Hintereisferner. From 1911 the hut belonged to the then Sektion Mark Brandenburg of the German and Austrian Alpine Club (DOeAV). It was built in the then-common form of a squat structure with a tin-covered lean-to roof directly on the slope, so that avalanches could be deflected over the roof. During World War I the hut was plundered; the outer walls were deformed by slope pressure and the roof was repeatedly destroyed by avalanches, leaving it unusable. From the early 1920s a new house was planned at a different location. In 1927 the new Hochjoch-Hospiz opened on the opposite side of the Rofenache valley. The old building was no longer maintained and fell into ruin. From 2002 to 2004 the house was fundamentally renovated and equipped with new building services. Until the early 1970s transport to the Hochjoch-Hospiz was carried out with pack animals; since then it has been done by helicopter. About 100 vertical metres below the Hochjoch-Hospiz lies the Rofenbergalm, used in summer as accommodation by South Tyrolean shepherds. The predecessor building known as the Hintereis-Hütte was the oldest known building in the rear Rofental. Near the hut, shepherds found an old horseshoe in 1844 – at a time when pack animals could no longer pass through this mountain region because of the glacier levels reached. The Schlagintweit brothers report that the shepherds therefore already recognised the significance of their find and nailed the horseshoe to their door. The horseshoe later entered the Tyrolean State Museum. In 2022 the hospice was awarded the environmental seal of approval for Alpine Club huts. The ascent is from Vent on the marked long-distance trail no. 902 (walking time: 2½ hours). It first passes the Rofenhöfe farms and the junction to the Vernagthütte. The path leads along the rocky slope and climbs gently to the hut. The ascent path was formerly named after Waldemar Titzenthaler, the long-serving chairman of the Berlin section Mark Brandenburg of the German and Austrian Alpine Club, which had refused to admit Jewish mountaineers as members since its foundation in 1899. For this reason the path was renamed Cyprian-Granbichler-Weg in 2003 as a sign against antisemitism. A monument to Cyprian Granbichler stands at his place of death on the old, now disused path on the right side of the Rofental. The monument is visible from the valley station of the material cable car to the Vernagthütte on the other side of the valley, about 100 metres above the Rote Bach. Until 2020 there was a memorial plaque to Titzenthaler on the Cyprian-Granbichler-Weg, behind which his urn was also buried. The hut is a base for crossings to the Vernagthütte (2,755 m), the Brandenburger Haus via the Delorette-Weg (3,272 m), the Weißkugelhütte (2,544 m), the Wirtshaus Schöne Aussicht (2,842 m), the Similaunhütte (3,019 m) and the Martin-Busch-Hütte (2,501 m). Tour options include the Guslarspitzen (3,147 m) in about 2 hours, the Kesselwandspitze (3,414 m) in about 4 hours, the Mutspitze in about 3 hours, the Weißkugel (3,738 m) in about 6 hours, the Saykogel (3,355 m) in about 4 hours, the Kreuzspitze (3,455 m) in about 4 hours, the Fineilspitze (3,514 m) in about 4 to 5 hours, and the Fluchtkogel (3,494 m) in about 4 to 5 hours. The relevant map is the Alpine Club map sheet 30/2 Ötztaler Alpen – Weißkugel (1:25,000).

• 2022

  The hospice is awarded the environmental seal of approval for Alpine Club huts.

• 2014

  A paid Wi-Fi hotspot is introduced at the hut.

• 2003

  The ascent path is renamed Cyprian-Granbichler-Weg as a sign against antisemitism.

• 2002

  Start of a fundamental renovation and installation of new building services, completed in 2004.

• 1927

  The new Hochjoch-Hospiz opens on the opposite side of the Rofenache valley.

• 1911

  The hut becomes the property of the Sektion Mark Brandenburg of the German and Austrian Alpine Club (DOeAV).

• 1872

  The first hut is completed at about 2,450 m.

• 1869

  Construction of the first shelter begins on the Kreuzberg slope of the Rofental, initiated by Franz Senn.

A heritage-listed, environmentally certified Alpine Club hut in the Ötztal Alps, positioned as a key mountaineering base and staging point on the Ötztal Round Tour, operated by the Berlin section of the German Alpine Club.

• Mountain hut accommodation

  30 beds, 30 mattress dormitory places and 10 emergency places.

• Self-catering and winter room

  Self-catering and winter room with 8 mattress places.

• Breakfast buffet and half board

  Breakfast buffet and half board are offered.

• Showers and mobile phone reception

  Showers and mobile phone reception are available.

• Paid Wi-Fi hotspot

  Available since 2014.

1. 1Hochjoch Hospiz - DAV Berlindav-berlin.de
2. 2Hochjochhospiz - Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Hochjoch-Hospiz - Wikipedia (German)de.wikipedia.org