Emergency route opens

Senn Hut: No super disaster, but unresolved issues

The Franz Senn Hut is the flagship of the Innsbruck section of the Austrian Alpine Club.

(Bild: Peter Freiberger)

After a round table discussion with LHStv. Josef Geisler (ÖVP), the emergency route into the Oberbergtal valley has been reopened and the supply to the refuge seems secure. The hut will probably open in summer after all.

The Innsbruck Alpine Association and the Fankhauser family, who run the Franz Senn Hut in the Oberbergtal valley near Neustift, had - as reported - given the municipality and the trail operators an ultimatum: If the access problem to the refuge is not resolved by May 24, the hut will de facto remain closed for this year's summer season. As reported, the agreement between the municipality and landowners that allowed suppliers to access the hut via the emergency route had expired.

Above all, I would like to know who is allowed to use the emergency road. Only the suppliers or also e-bikers, cabs and our employees?

Thomas Fankhauser, Wirt Franz-Senn-Hütte

Round table in the Landhaus
The ultimatum reached the Landhaus. On Thursday, LHStv. Josef Geisler invited those responsible in the municipality, representatives of the Stöcklenalm agricultural community and the landowners to a round table. Insiders speak less of a request and more of a tough call for talks. A partial solution was apparently found.

"Agreement in principle " 
"The talks led to an agreement in principle, which will probably allow the emergency route to be reopened as early as the middle of next week. Two outstanding resolutions, which are necessary for the final implementation, are expected by then," reads a press release from the office of Josef Geisler, Deputy Provincial Governor.

The road to Oberbergtal was partially destroyed by storms in 2022.

(Bild: Fankhauser)

"I am delighted that the round table has produced a positive result for everyone. This also means that the management of the Franz-Senn-Hütte and the surrounding alpine pastures and huts can be secured. In addition, the implementation of the protection and road construction project for the access road can begin soon," says Geisler.

Hut manager Thomas Fankhauser comments cautiously on the result. "This seems to have averted the worst-case scenario, we will probably open," says Fankhauser. He wants to know who will be allowed to use the emergency route: "Only suppliers or also e-bikers, cabs and our employees?"

Will the situation remain as bleak as 2023?
It is to be feared that the situation will remain as bleak as it was in 2023, when only suppliers were allowed to use the emergency route. Day visitors would continue to stay away. He will now consult with the Alpine Association.