Mountain sports guide in Austria: Safety on the mountain in danger?

Mountain sports guide in Austria: Safety on the mountain in danger?

Innsbruck, Österreich - An alarming situation for the domestic mountain sports guides develops in Austria. An international alliance urgently calls for a change in legislation to classify the mountain sports guides as independent employees. The Austrian Alpine Association (ÖAV) and the Tyrolean Bergsportführerverband made aware of the serious consequences in Innsbruck, which has brought about a dependent classification since 2017. This leads to enormous financial and bureaucratic burdens for alpine clubs and mountain schools that their mountain guides have to do, even if they are only temporarily in use, reported the website of Krone.at.

The current provisions increase the costs for the service of the mountain guides by up to 30 percent. ÖAV general secretary Clemens Matt pointed out that these additional costs have not yet been passed on to the members, the fear that foreigners would now have to be hired more frequently to reduce economic loads. This would not only endanger security, since foreign leaders are often less local, but also negatively influence the number of training courses available. For example, the Dutch climbing and mountain sports club in 2025 will no longer offer an ice cream course at the Kaunergrathütte in the Pitztal, as the mountain sports guides reveal.

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