Alpine Huts (Refuge in French / Rifugio in Italian and Hutte in German) add an extra dimension to many of our alpine courses and allow a very early start to be made often with quick access to the glacier or start of the route.
Staying in a hut can be a great pleasure combining the opportunity to be out in the mountains during the night / very early in the morning with a social & hospitable evening, often with great hearty local mountain food. Huts generally provide 3 course evening meals and a relatively basic breakfast of a hot drink with bread, butter & jam. Some huts, particularly in Switzerland, provide more extensive breakfasts!
Huts also sell snacks, chocolate, drinks etc which can be bought to take in to the mountains. They also serve lunch, hot drinks as well as beer and wine. Some huts have no running water which means bottled water needs to be bought. This can be expensive but remember it has to be brought in by helicopter!
Sleeping accommodation is provided in communal rooms with anything from 4 to 40 beds, so come prepared with earplugs! Huts provide basic toilet / bathrooms although sometimes washing facilities are limited or non-existent if there is no running water at the hut.
