Hauptversammlung 2022:
Saturday 22 October

by Janet Britnell, Hut Fund Representative

Schloss Rothschild, Waidhofen a.d.Ybbs
Photo by Janet Britnell

The 2022 ÖAV Hauptversammlung (AGM) was held in Waidhofen an der Ybbs, in Niederösterreich, and hosted by the local ÖAV section, founded in 1875. The town has been the economic centre of the Ybbs valley since the 14th century, but it is so small that many of the 500 members attending the HVS weekend, including 4 of the AAC(UK) members, were accommodated downstream in Amstetten. Nevertheless, section Chairman Susie Gamp and her team did everything they could to make everyone welcome. The Hütten und Wege Ausschuss (Huts and Paths Committee) on Thursday afternoon, the Bundesausschuss (BA - Federal Committee) all day Friday, and the Workshops on topical ÖAV issues on Friday afternoon, were all held in Schloss Rothschild at the entrance to the old town, on the West bank of the Ybbs. Meanwhile, just across the river, many departments from Alpenvereinshaus in Innsbruck were setting out their stalls in the large modern extension to the Schloss an der Eisenstrasse, where the HVS itself was held all day Saturday. On Friday evening six Landesverbände (provincial associations) meetings were held in Schloss Rothschild or a local Gasthof including the annual informal Ausland meeting between S. Flandern and S. Britannia representatives: Diana Rayner (Chairman), Tim Morley (Vice-Chairman and IT representative), Nigel Phipps (Treasurer and Activities Team Co-Chairman), Alex Gymer (Activities Team Co-Chairman), Kate Plumb, Michael Prowse, and myself.

At the HVS itself, 3 Green Cross medals were awarded for outstanding service to mountain rescue. Two huts were awarded the ‘Environmental Seal of Approval’: The Zeller Hütte (1575m) in the Totesgebirge, which 5 of our party visited enroute to the HVS, and the new Voisthaler Hütte (1654m) in the Hochschwab, built over the top station of the Materialseilbahn (which itself benefited from a €20K donation from AAC(UK) in 2014). For the first time at an HVS a live survey was conducted during the meeting to elect the most environmentally friendly sections based on presentations by some sections. The winning sections were Salzburg, ÖGV and Austria. President Ermacora’s report considered the Alpenverein’s role in society, in particular its position as a nature conservation organisation in the arguments over wind and hydro power. Other reports included the 2022 allocation of funds for hut maintenance; improvements to the online booking system, OHRS; Alpenvereinjugends drive for inclusivity and child safety; a new nature conservation initiative ‘RespektAmBerg’; 10 years of the Alpenverein-Akademie; the Alpenverein’s position on Mountain-biking. The guest lecture emphasised the importance for humans of sustainably protecting rivers.

In contrast to 2021, there were only 3 resolutions presented to the HVS and all 3 were approved:

1. a below inflation increase in membership fees for 2024 in addition to the hut levy on A and B memberships already agreed at the 2021 HVS;
2. new, tougher rules for the allocation of all hut maintenance funds from 2023 plus the scheme starting in 2024 for allocating the additional funding for major projects based on the number of both members and huts belonging to the section applying for the extra funding;
3. all ÖAV huts with more than 300 overnight stays per annum will be obliged to join the OHRS by the end of 2023.

In many ways the networking outside the main hall is as important as the HVS itself, for instance: the two Activities Co-Chairmen, Alex and Nigel, were able to discuss Alpine training with representatives of WELTbewegend and also of the Alpenverein-Akademie. Wearing his Treasurer hat, Nigel met Hauptverein (HV) Head of Finance, Sabine Kinignader. In addition to catching up with Andi Bstieler of S4, Tim met other key IT people, such as Wolfgang Schnabl, Vice-President, and Markus Knitel, HV head of IT. I had useful discussions with the Chairman of S. Baden bei Wien and with the 1st and 2nd Chairmen of S. Leoben about their huts.

The networking continued in the evening at the Fest Abend and next day on the ‘Sunday Walk’ in the Bergsteigerdorf, Lunz am See, around the source of the Ybbs, followed by a virtual tour in ‘Das Haus der Wildnis’ of the last noteworthy spruce-firbeech primeval forest in the whole Alpine arc, preserved due to a standoff between 2 monasteries and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Huts & Paths Committee
Photo by Vanessa Kilchenmann

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