The perfect adventure: How to choose the ideal hut-to-hut tour?

Are you ready for an unforgettable adventure in the mountains? A hut-to-hut hike is a fantastic way to explore stunning nature, admire breathtaking landscapes, and embrace new challenges. However, with so many different hut-to-hut hikes to choose from, it can be challenging to decide which one is best for you. Don't worry! In this blog post, we'll share some tips to help you choose the ideal hut-to-hut hike and prepare for an amazing adventure.

By chosing the perfect tour, you have to ask yourself those important questions:

• How experienced am I?
• What kind of paths do I want to hike?
• How long should my hikingdays are?
• What kind of scenery do I like?
• Is it the right season?
• Are the huts still free?

How experienced are you?

Before selecting a hut-to-hut hike, it's essential to assess your own skill level. Are you an experienced hiker who enjoys tackling long distances and conquering heights? Or are you a beginner who prefers to stick to easier trails? By knowing your own abilities and comfort level, you can choose a hut-to-hut hike that suits you and that you can enjoy.

What kind of paths do I want to hike?

In the Alps, hiking trails are often marked with colors similar to ski slopes:

1. Blue trails indicate easy paths, often wide gravel or sandy roads.
2. Red are moderately difficult hiking trails, a nice narrower path through a forest or over the Alpine meadows, for example, but also possible with somewhat steeper precipices next to the path.
3. Black trails denote difficult and technical hiking routes. For this you need sufficient experience in the mountains.

In addition, route descriptions online and in guidebooks often give the route a certain difficulty level, ranging from T1 to T6.

• T1: Walking. Well laid out and wide paths without major dangers and depths.
• T2: Mountain walking. Constructed path with greater height differences, steep terrain and more sure-footedness is required. Mountain hiking boots are necessary.
• T3: Mountain walking for advanced users. Not always a clear path, sometimes the paths are even insured with cables. Experience, good hiking boots and fitness are necessary.
• T4: Alpine hiking. Very steep terrain, where the path is not always visible and you often have to use your hands to move forward. It is possible that the path goes around loose stones and rocks or via 'easy' glaciers. You certainly need sufficient experience for this.
• T5: Alpine hiking for advanced users. Often without a path over difficult and dangerous terrain. You must have knowledge of attributes such as a pick, crampons and ropes.
• T6: Difficult alpine hiking. No paths or traces of a path. Routes go over steep glaciers, unstable scree or loose rocks.

These difficulty levels apply in good weather with summer conditions. In bad weather such as rain, the paths can be completely different. T1 and T2 can often still be walked in bad weather (always be alert for thunder), but from T3 it is better to look for an easier path in bad weather.

First hut tour? Choose a route with predominantly blue and sporadically red paths (T1 and T2)!

Walking days of 3 or 8 hours?

Before booking a hut tour, it is important to check the route and the huts along the route. View the distances between the huts, the height differences and the estimated walking times.

In the mountains, the distance between different places is not indicated in kilometers, but in time. This is because you often have to deal with large height differences. The time indicated is pure walking time in good conditions. So your breaks and photo opportunities, for example, are on top of this. If the weather is bad, you should also assume that it will take longer because the paths are a bit slippery, for example.

For novice hut hikers, a 4-hour hiking day can often be tough enough. Especially because you walk several days in a row, sleep in huts with several people in the room and you have a heavy bag. It is advisable to choose only walking days of a maximum of 5 hours for your first hut tour.

The more experienced hut hikers can probably estimate for themselves how long they want their hiking days to be. It is often nice to plan a short walking day between heavier walking days, also known as a rest day. It is advisable not to make a walking day longer than 9 hours.

Check the area via the satellite layer of Google Maps!

Choose an area and environment that appeals to you. There are hut tours in all kinds of different areas, from the Alps to the Pyrenees and the Dolomites. Consider what type of landscape and environment appeals to you most. Are you a lover of sweeping views and snow-capped mountain peaks? Or do you prefer green valleys and babbling streams? Choose a destination that suits your preferences and interests. A tip to check what an area looks like is to use the satellite layer on Google Maps. This way you can see exactly how green an area is and whether there are glaciers, for example.

A hut tour with panoramic views of glaciers is, for example, the Stubaier Höhenweg and for a tour through a wetland area the Schladminger Tauern is a good one. Do you like the view of big, gray peaks? Then take a look at the hut tour through the Karwendel. If you want a quiet area without many other tourists, choose the Gesäuse Hut Tour, for example. If extensive and good huts are important to you, then the Stubaier Höhenweg is perfect. Do you find it interesting to also pick up a piece of history? Then take a look at the Karnischer Höhenweg.

Pay attention to the season and the weather

The weather can have a major influence on your hut trip, so check the weather forecasts before your trip and make sure you are going in the right season. Most huts in the Alps are open between mid-June and mid-September, but this may vary by area.

In addition, choose for yourself what kind of weather you want. The weather in the mountains is unpredictable and changeable, but the Southern Alps, for example, usually have more sun and higher temperatures than the Northern Alps. For example, the Mercantour National Park is known for its Mediterranean weather, so if you want sun you can choose Tour de Mercantour.

Check the huts and book on time!

Make sure that the route meets your expectations and that the huts offer sufficient facilities for a comfortable stay. Also check whether the huts are still available in your desired period. Popular routes and huts are often fully booked for the summer in winter.

Most huts have their own website, which you can often find by simply typing the name of the hut into Google. On their website you will often quickly find the link to their online booking system and you can easily see whether there is still room available during your period.

Are the huts still available during your period and have you found a suitable route? Book the huts as soon as possible!

Consider guided tours

If you have never taken a hut tour before or would rather not plan the route yourself, consider joining a guided tour. There are several organizations that offer guided hut tours, where experienced guides lead you through the mountains and take care of all the logistics. In addition, a group tour can also be very enjoyable, especially if you do the tour alone.