Hochstubaihütte

Hochstubaihütte is a high-alpine mountain hut (Schutzhütte) in the Stubai Alps of Tyrol, Austria, situated on the Wildkarspitze at 3,173 metres above sea level. It is the third-highest hut in Austria and the highest hut of the German Alpine Club (Deutscher Alpenverein, DAV) in the Stubai Alps. The hut is owned and operated by the Dresden Section of the DAV, which built it between 1930 and 1933. It is described by its operators as the "little sister" of the nearby Dresdner Hütte, which lies a few kilometres away. The hut provides hospitality in a high-alpine environment and is a base for mountaineering, hiking and ski touring. It offers 40 sleeping places: 32 in mattress camps and 8 in shared rooms, along with sanitary facilities including showers, a guest room with a tiled stove, a kitchen and a terrace. A separate winter room building, renovated between 2021 and 2023, provides six beds, a wood stove, cooking facilities, dishes, seating, a vestibule for backpacks and skis, and electric light via a solar system. The hut is supplied by helicopter and has two webcams with a weather station providing round-the-clock information. Its high location affords a panoramic view of the Ötztal and Stubai Alps. Access to the hut is demanding. From Sölden via the Kleblealm, Laubkarsee and Laubkarsattel it takes about six hours with roughly 1,750 metres of ascent; from Fiegls Gasthaus via the Seekarsee, an emergency shelter and the "Himmelsleiter" (a steep, partly exposed section) it takes about five hours. In summer, hiking buses can shorten part of the approach. The hut is a starting point for summit tours including the Hoher Nebelkogel (3,211 m), Warenkarseitenspitze (3,345 m), Windacher Daunkogel (3,351 m), Wilde Leck (3,361 m) and Stubaier Wildspitze (3,340 m). It also serves as a stage on multi-day crossings to the Amberger Hütte, Dresdner Hütte and Hildesheimer Hütte, some of which require glacier equipment. The hut has been continuously maintained and modernised. After standing empty after the Second World War under the administration of the Austrian Alpine Club, it was reopened for business in 1961 and bought back by the Dresden Section in the 1970s. A sanitation wing was added in 2011 with water-saving, environmentally friendly technology. The winter room building was fully renovated between 2021 and 2023, and in 2024 work was carried out on the drinking water reservoir to secure supply. The hut sits on land owned by the Austrian Federal Forests (Österreichische Bundesforste), with a lease running until 2050. It was named the German Alpine Club's "hut tip of the month" in July 2020.

The Hochstubaihütte was built between 1930 and 1933 by the Dresden Section of the German and Austrian Alpine Club (Deutscher und Oesterreichischer Alpenverein). It was constructed as a high-alpine shelter on the Wildkarspitze in the Stubai Alps at 3,173 metres above sea level. After the Second World War, the hut stood empty and was placed under the administration of the Austrian Alpine Club (Österreichischer Alpenverein). It was reopened for business in 1961. In the 1970s, the Dresden Section — at that time based in Wuppertal and Böblingen during the division of Germany — bought the hut back. The hut stands on land owned by the Austrian Federal Forests (Österreichische Bundesforste), with a lease agreement running until 2050. In 2011, the hut was extended with a sanitation wing, and at the same time the operation was converted to water-saving, environmentally friendly technology. Between 2021 and 2023, the winter room building was fully renovated, including new windows, new beds, interior wood panelling and a solar system. The work began in 2021 during the coronavirus pandemic and included a complete one-year pause because the contractor from the Ötztal lacked personnel. In 2024, construction work was carried out on the drinking water reservoir to secure the water supply. The hut remains owned and operated by the Dresden Section of the German Alpine Club and is described as the highest DAV hut in the Stubai Alps, the third-highest hut in Austria, and one of the highest huts in the Eastern Alps.

• 2024

  Construction work is carried out on the drinking water reservoir to secure water supply.

• 2023

  The winter room building renovation is completed, including new windows, beds, wood panelling and a solar system.

• 2021

  Work begins on the full renovation of the winter room building.

• 2020

  The Hochstubaihütte is named the German Alpine Club's hut tip of the month for July.

• 2011

  The hut is extended with a sanitation wing and converted to water-saving, environmentally friendly technology.

• 1970

  The Dresden Section, then based in Wuppertal and Böblingen, buys the hut back.

• 1961

  The hut is reopened for business.

• 1945

  After the Second World War, the hut stands empty under the administration of the Austrian Alpine Club.

• 1933

  Construction of the Hochstubaihütte is completed.

• 1930

  Construction of the Hochstubaihütte begins by the Dresden Section of the German and Austrian Alpine Club.

High-alpine mountain hut and hospitality base for mountaineers, owned by the Dresden Section of the German Alpine Club; third-highest hut in Austria.

• Mountain hut accommodation

  40 sleeping places: 32 in mattress camps and 8 in shared rooms.

• Sanitary facilities

  Sanitary facilities including showers.

• Guest room with tiled stove

  Guest room with a tiled stove, kitchen and terrace.

• Winter room

  Separate winter room building with 6 beds, wood stove with cooking facilities, dishes, table and seating, vestibule for backpacks and skis, electric light via solar system; firewood room and dry toilet in the main building.

• Webcams and weather station

  Two webcams with a weather station provide round-the-clock information about current conditions.

1. 1Willkommenhochstubaihuette.at
2. 2Hochstubaihüttewikidata.org
3. 3Hochstubaihüttede.wikipedia.org