Hut Fund Report

by Janet Britnell

Kellerjochhütte and the Inn valley
Photo Georg Unterberger

Kellerjoch Hütte

The Kellerjoch Hütte, 2237m, belonging to Sektion Schwaz with 2800 members, is a category I hut, in the Tuxer Alpen at the intersection of several paths on a col above the lovely old town of Schwaz and the Inn Valley and not far from the Zillertal. The hut, on the Inntaler Höhenweg, the via Alpina and on a variant of the Adlerweg, has 24 sleeping places, and had 940 overnight guests in 2015. They also had approximately 6000 day visitors in 2015. There are 4 or 5 different routes up from Schwaz. The shortest route is about an hour from the top of the lift up to the Hecherhaus at 1887m. It is about 2½ hours from Alpengasthof Pirchnerast in the north; 1¾ hours over Kuhmesser, 2264m, from Gamsteinhaus in the south. Excellent hospitality is provided by the Hüttenwirten, tenants of 11 years standing, Veronika and Gunther Felderer. The hut is supplied by a Materialseilbahn to the north of the hut that is licensed for another 9 years. The drinking water source is from a spring in the valley, 150m below the hut. It delivers 2½ litres a minute, and is pumped up a narrow pipe by a mechanical pump powered by the water supply itself into the storage tank near to the hut. Waste water is carried away by a sewage pipe to the valley.

The hut was built in 1908 and by 2015 it was in need of refurbishment in order to meet the regulatory requirements for fire safety and workplace standards, as well as modernisation of the sanitary facilities. Plans to meet these requirements, provide a winter room and drying room, and restore the hut in the style of a traditional hut, were drawn up and approved in 2015. Before any rebuilding work can begin on a hut various permissions have to be obtained including planning permission from the local authority, and in this case that was more complicated than usual. The section owns the land on which the hut stands; however the boundaries of three local authorities meet at a point on the southern side of the hut. Most of the hut is located in the district of Schwan, but a small bit is in Pil, and an even smaller bit is in Fogenberg. Particularly diplomatic negotiations were required to ensure the project could proceed in 2016. The final blow in 2015 was the failure of the diesel generator; deciding to replace it with a more eco-friendly rapeseed oil generator required more planning permissions, and considerable extra expenditure!

The original plan had been to start work on 9 May 2016 and have the shell of the new part of the building completed, with a wash-room and at least one functional WC in place by the end of June, so that the hut could provide a minimal service to visitors. Despite a fortnight's delay due to a late snowfall, such that the helicopter deliveries of the building materials could only start on 25 May, by the end of June most of the work was complete. The weather had been good and work, by the volunteers at least, could continue until dusk on most days. The eastern end of the hut had been remodelled giving the whole hut a more coherent structure, and the roof was on. There was a new entrance to the hut by a wide stairway under a large porch, and a new straight internal staircase. The rebuilt wash-rooms and toilets on the ground floor, and the new shower rooms on the first floor were complete and the water supply turned on. There was a new 4 bed Lager and a drying room on the ground floor; and 2 additional small Lager, or staff rooms, on the first floor. The kitchen had been refurbished, with a new floor and new cooker. The new energy system, with a rape-seed oil generator and photovoltaic panels, including a solar air heater combined with a fan that pumps the heated air to the lower part of the coldest side of the hut, had been installed. The warm air then circulates passively back through the hut, even when the hut is closed in winter, preventing the build up of black mould.

Work in progress
Photo by Alexander Haidekker

By Monday 25 July the new winter room, constructed in the NE corner of the cellar and separated from the rest of the hut by fire proof walls and ceiling, was completed and equipped with a stove. The outer walls of the hut were covered in new shingles, the permanent lightning conductor was in place, the carpenter and all the equipment and tools were gone; material excavated during the building work had been buried, covered and grassed over.

The overall cost of the project was estimated at €520K, it was allocated €5244k (47%) from the 2016 Alpenverein central pot. The town of Schwan has promised them €5100K (& €550K in 2016, €550K in 2017 - they may take out a loan from the Alpenverein to tide them over), and a local bank has promised €55K. The architectural drawings and all the planning was done by volunteers, but the Huts and Paths department in Alpenvereinshaus advised them to use professionals for the construction, particularly for the electrical work and the outer shell, for insurance reasons. Nevertheless the Hüttenwart, Albrecht Enzenberg (who was on site every day), Chairman, Alexander Haidekker, and Architect, Hannes Bittner, put in many voluntary hours on the project, which was acknowledged in an email from Georg Unterberger, congratulating and thanking them at the end of the project. He also commented that the Alpenverein builds things faster than most, despite having ten times more difficult circumstances!

Kellerjochhütte - job done!
Photo by Albrecht Enzenberg

Since the building work was completed the drinking water failed its annual inspection, probably due to heavy rain in 2016, and the section have had to implement work to protect the source and UV sterilisation of the water at the hut, adding at least €20K to the bill, and leading to the postponement of the official opening ceremony to July 2017!

The Executive Committee agreed at their September 2016 meeting to donate €10K from the Hut Fund to Sektion Schwaz towards the cost of the refurbishment of the Kellerjochhütte. This was much appreciated by Sektion Schwaz.

There is no doubt that the donations we make from the Hut Fund to help Austrian sections maintain their huts are very much appreciated by the sections themselves and by the Hauptverein. Thank you for your generosity and please keep the donations coming in.

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