Family Bergfest 2022

The Club Bergfest was a family gathering held at the Franz-Senn Hütte in the Stubaier Alpen in July 2022. Participants of all ages were welcome and 35 took part, the youngest being 4 and the oldest 84. The four-night event was organised by Allan Hartley with support from Graham Willoughby and the AAC(UK) office. What follows is a series of [edited] personal views written by some who took part. All photos were taken by those attending.

Ross Carson [13]

The Family Bergfest was everything I hoped it would be. After overnighting in Innsbruck, Day 1 involved a walk up to the Franz Senn-Hütte, which was tricky because of the 30°C heat. The remainder of Day 1 allowed for introductions and the plan for the week to be explained.

Day 2 was also hot, so a 500m climb to the Rinnensee was the perfect activity. All of the youngsters opted for a dip in the glacial meltwater, but a few of the adults chickened out, presenting a range of excuses. The water temperature was fit for a polar bear, but the bigger problem was sharp rocks underfoot. I did get a few cuts on my feet, but nothing that hampered the week. It was a perfect first activity as everyone got to know each other and friendships started to form. After lunch our outstanding mountain guides, Felix and Eva, took us rock climbing on a face close to the hut. A few mums and dads had a go, but none could get up the face as quick as the billy goats, and no-one could beat Eva who raced up barefoot! It was a great opportunity to improve our rock skills and strengthen friendships, especially when we belayed for each other (thanks Hannah, great job!).

On Day 3, several different activities took place. Most completed a Klettersteig route with Felix and Eva, but my parents and I decided to climb the 3003m Rinnenspitze. We got to within 50m of the summit, but we had lent our harnesses to the Klettersteig group and mum and dad felt we had reached a point where we were taking too much risk, so we turned round. Dad explained, risk is okay, but it needs to be managed and when you feel you are losing the ability to manage the risk, it is okay to turn round. After we got back to the hut, we found out that Edelweiss had been spotted on the Klettersteig route. My mum was mad, she has been trying to see it in Austria for 20 years! She has only seen Edelweiss in the French Alps, but apparently that doesn’t count.

On Day 4, we were lucky enough to complete a gorge Klettersteig with Eva and the Knowles family. Traversing through the gorge was amazing, the noise of the water was deafening and all communication was by hand signal. The route ended with a zipwire across the gorge, but the descent to the zipwire involved an overhang which was very stressful. Mum and Dad lucked in as they were allowed to abseil down to the zipwire, avoiding the overhang. There was some excuse about the descent taking too long, but this excuse only appeared after the 3 youngest (Amber, Chloe and I) had negotiated the overhang. This was my first gorge Klettersteig and definitely my highlight of the week. In our final afternoon, the entire group met at the Flying Fox zipwire. Everyone had a go, which was remarkable considering the age range the! We are already looking forward to the next Bergfest, but can it please be a bit longer?

Ross Carson’s dad, Neil

Who would have thought you could construct four days of activity above 2000m for a group with an age span from 4 to 84? Well, Sektion Britannia can! There were many positive outcomes from Bergfest 2022, but one of the most important was establishing a firm foundation for the next generation of AAC(UK) alpinists. Bergfest created a group of young people who aspire to Felix’s and Eva’s levels of mountain craft and future Bergfeste will allow them the opportunity to grow into similarly confident and capable alpinists.

Gordon Kettle [84]

What an amazing meeting! All were soon attempting the challenges set for them by our two excellent guides, up to Rinnensee and for some beyond to the top of the Rinnenspitze. Not a bad start for beginners who hadn’t been in the Alps before!

And so to the next day, to tog up in harnesses to receive excellent training, ready to attempt a climb of the Klettersteig. Apart from a few of the older generation, everyone reached the top and returned safely; another “first” for most. Beaming faces all around. A quieter day followed where the whole group wandered through the rocks and vegetation with more time to take in the beautiful scenery surrounding the Franz-Senn-Hütte.

This culminated in the challenge of the zipwire, completed by all with much fun and laughter. All this with the comfort, food, and drink provided by the staff of the hut. I imagine that the hut has never seen so many youngsters at once.

Seeds have been sown for youngsters who will be drawn back to the Alps and I hope that future events of this kind will follow. On a personal note I have now confirmed that I will be seeking lower and gentler slopes to walk on!

Shona Walker [7]

I loved making new friends at the mountain hut. I loved the zip line it was amazing. I felt proud of myself doing the activities.

George Walker [4]

I loved playing with Daphne and Cissy and the snow leopard. I loved the zip line and had lots of fun and I ‘zipped” all the way across and saw the stream far down below.

Rowan Walker [9]

I enjoyed meeting new people and making new friends. I loved all the activities especially Klettersteig, climbing and going on the zip line – the guides were amazing and really supportive.

The Walker Parents

The hut was very well chosen for its accessibility and location as it required just the right amount of effort by the children for it to feel like a real adventure getting there. It was ideally located with easy access to a variety of mountain-based activities. Families were made to feel very welcome both by the hut staff and other guests. We would certainly be interested in supporting a similar venture in the future.

Lara Macdonald [20]

The highlight for me was the open water swimming at the Rinnensee despite it being very, very cold. A close second was the ambience of the hut and all the people we got to meet and talk to.

Ben Rabjohns [21]

Difficult choice but certainly swimming in the Rinnensee and the Klettersteig.

Mike Garrett

The Bergfest was a great success. I'm aware that the Office handled the admin and maybe some other things too - my personal thanks for that. Pride of place must go, however, to Allan Hartley; without his persistence this event would never have happened. Allan was supported by Graham Willoughby.

This was clearly an amazing new experience for the youngsters. The travel to Austria, seeing big mountains for the first time, life in an Austrian hut, the Klettersteig, the zipwire, and interacting with the other children. At first the children sat in the Stube with parents/grandparents, but by day two they sat together and adults were sent to other tables. The noise level increased! All the children but the smallest made it to the Rinnensee. On the Thursday the kids turned into wolves and their howls echoed across the mountainside. Then onto the zipwire. Snowy, a snow leopard, zipped with several of the kids.

Kate Plumb

The first thing which really struck us was how quickly an atmosphere of friendship, mutual support, fun and sheer anticipation was established among the entire group. We all know and love the mountains, but the Bergfest created something even more magical in terms of bringing together different generations (often from the same family) to develop skills, knowledge, and a deeper appreciation of the mountain environment. It was a joy to watch grandparents and parents climbing, walking, zipwiring and enjoying the mountains together with their offspring. Dare we say it had all the magic of Christmas without the arguments!

The gender balance between the two guides was an important feature of the trip. Eva provided an exemplary role model to the girls, and she also demonstrated to the boys that both women and men can be at home in a mountain environment. In conclusion this event was extremely successful and even motivated some parents to volunteer to organise a similar event next year. This fact alone demonstrates the enthusiasm and value placed on the Bergfest by the families.

Allan Hartley [meet organizer and leader]

A very big thank you to our two guides Eva Schider and Felix Autor for such entertaining and inspirational guiding; it was certainly beyond my expectations. Also to Thomas and Beate Fankhauser and their team at the Franz-Senn-Hütte for hosting the meet and providing four days of Kaiserwetter. All in all I am sure that everyone would agree that we had a brilliant time in the mountains.

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