Peter-Wiechenthaler-Hütte - with new extensions on the north and west sides, and new terrace
By Martin Haitzmann

Peter-Wiechenthaler-Hütte

by Janet Britnell, Hut Fund Representative

The 2020 Spring Newsletter Hut Fund Report featured the Peter- Wiechenthaler-Hütte in the Berchtesgadener Alpen belonging to Sektion Saalfelden, and the major renovation project that started in Autumn 2019.

At the end of October 2019 AAC(UK) made a Hut Fund donation of €30K to S. Saalfelden towards the estimated €600K cost of the first two phases of the project. In a Christmas message they said how much the donation had helped their financial liquidity for the initial stages of the project. By the end of November, the concrete foundations and cellar extensions were in place. After a fairly mild winter, construction work began again in early March 2020. Despite the impact of the lockdown and social distancing rules, the team led by Chairman Sepp Straif had both the framework of the wooden extensions above the cellars and the gable on the roof ridge in place by mid-April. Next, they completed the shell, the roof and the new terrace. Like nearly all the other huts, they were able to start serving food inside and on the terrace by mid-May and, from early June, their newly furnished guest rooms were opened, one by one. Construction work continues, but at a slower pace, this year and probably into 2021. Meanwhile their many guests are very impressed with the new facilities and the speed with which they have executed the project so far. See wiechenthaler-huette.at – the text is in German, but the pictures speak for themselves.

I had planned to visit Sektion Klagenfurt’s Fragranter Jugendheim (1770m) and the Fragranter Hütte (1810m) in the Goldberggruppe in June 2020 but COVID-19 intervened. The two huts are set in 4 hectares of idyllic alpine terrain, with many possibilities for alpine activities for young and old, but particularly for the very young, teenagers, and young adults. The Jugendheim is virtually unchanged from when it was built in 1932. The winning design for the renovation and extension of the Jugendheim should be implemented in 2021 but will stretch the financial resources of S. Klagenfurt. In June 2020 the Bundesausschuss agreed an extra €650K from central funds towards the project, in addition to the usual 40% from the annual Hut pot, on condition that the youth department and other section youth groups would be able to use the facilities. The Fragranter Hütte itself has been renovated more recently, but there is a problem with damp in a basement dormitory, and the Materialseilbahn is also in need of some work. It is likely that we will be asked to help with this and at least two other possible 2021 projects. The first is the modernisation of the waste-water treatment at the Badener Hütte, 2608m, in the Venedigergruppe, despite not polluting the streams below. The approved method would involve hacking out a large area of rock to make a bacterial filtration bed but the altitude and the aspect make it unlikely that it will ever be warm enough for the system to function. The relatively small section is keen to try a more environmentally friendly method, which could be a model for other high huts, but for which there will not be extra funding from the central or provincial governments at this stage. The second project that could need our help in 2021, another environmentally friendly pilot, is a plan to improve the Hochsengs-Biwak (1583m on the Sengsengebirge-Höhenweg) by replacing the existing ‘metal box’ with a typical wood workers’ hut built using traditional regional construction methods. A decision on which project(s) to support will be taken by the Board in coming months.

Thank you for your continuing support for the Hut Fund. It is much appreciated both by the sections we help and by the Hauptverein. Please keep the donations coming in.

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