Family adventure to the Lucknerhütte: Enjoyment with a view of the Großglockner!

Family adventure to the Lucknerhütte: Enjoyment with a view of the Großglockner!

Lucknerhütte, Österreich - On May 29, 2025, the mountains are again a destination for hikers, in particular the Lucknerhütte , which is located at 2,241 meters at the foot of the Großglockners. This impressive mountain hut, which is managed by the Gertrud and Florian Oberlohr family, can be reached from the parking lot of Kalser Glocknerstrasse in just one hour. With regional dishes and cozy overnight accommodation in double rooms and small room camps, it offers a lot of comfort for both day trippers and for longer stays.

Especially the sun terrace of the Lucknerhütte attracts many guests who want to enjoy the breathtaking view of the Großglockner. Nature lovers can also observe marmots, ibex and eagle. An infrared cabin with wellness loungers, ideal for relaxation after an extensive mountain tour, ensures additional convenience. On June 6, 2025, a special event will take place, the "Patagonia evening", where experts will talk about their experiences at the Cerro Torre in South America. Entry is financed by voluntary donations and further information can be found on the website of the Lucknerhütte.

renovation of the Archduke Johann-Hütte

Another important mountain hut, the Archduke Johann-Hütte, is on the Adlersruhe at 3,454 meters and is the highest hut in Austria. It was opened in 1880 and has received more than 4,000 overnight guests per season since then. Due to overloaded sanitary facilities as well as inadequate electricity and water supply, comprehensive general renovation was started in 2000, led by Gottfried Steinbacher. Among other things, the work included the stabilization of the underground in order to counter the challenges through glacier pressure and thawing permafrost soil.

In the past two years, energy and water supply have also been modernized. The hat now supplies its guests with a combined heat and power plant and solar technology with electricity and heat. Glacier and rainwater are collected in stainless steel tanks, while the toilet system does not require water flushing, since faeces are dried and transported to the valley before the season. After 15 years of renovation, the extensive measures to renew the Archduke Johann-Hütte at the beginning of the high tour season 2016 were successfully completed.

climate change and its effects on mountain tourism

While the popularity of the mountain huts is increasing, the Alps also face serious challenges that are reinforced by climate change. According to the latest reports of the German Alpine Club (DAV) have changed the conditions for hiking trails in recent years. One example is the way to the Taschachhaus in the Ötztal Alps, which is severely damaged by landslides and is now unstable. Such changes require a constant adaptation and redesign of hiking trails, since the prices and the effort for path maintenance have more than doubled in the last 10 to 15 years.

Roman Ossner, department head at the DAV, warns of the risks of muries and the disappearance of glaciers. These natural changes could not only endanger the safety of hikers in the coming decades, but also affect the entire tourism in the Alps. The average temperatures in the Alps rise twice as quickly as in the global average, which is a significant threat to the alpine landscape.