Association sounds the alarm

Paths and huts are in danger on the alpine pastures

Maintaining the trails costs a lot of time and money.

(Bild: Österreichischer Alpenverein)

The Austrian Alpine Association is demanding 95 million euros from the federal government due to the high costs of maintaining paths and shelters. Although no tenants are currently being sought in Upper Austria, there are fewer and fewer volunteers.

Contrary to what the name would have you believe, eternal snow is anything but eternal. While the temperature in the valley has recently risen by 1.5 degrees compared to the long-term average, it is already a worrying three degrees warmer in the mountains.

Not unlike the glaciers, the Austrian Alpine Association's personnel reserves are also melting away. "Many of our volunteers are getting older, and younger people often don't want to commit to voluntary work in the long term," says President Wolfgang Schnabl. "Yet we need significantly more volunteers right now!"

Construction sites in alpine locations are much more expensive
Climate change is bringing extreme weather conditions, and these are putting a strain on paths and huts. In Upper Austria, the Alpine Association looks after around 3,500 kilometers of mountain trails and 28 huts; nationwide, there are 26,000 kilometers and 225 huts. Time and again, paths and huts that have been buried or damaged by mudslides and avalanches have to be repaired.

It costs 40 euros to repair one kilometer of hiking trail with volunteers. With construction workers it would be around 400 euros. In Upper Austria, we look after around 3,500 kilometers of trails and 28 huts, which are even more expensive.

Wolfgang Schnabl, Präsident Alpenverein Österreich

But because construction sites in alpine locations cost three to four times as much and construction workers instead of volunteers increase trail maintenance costs tenfold, the Alpine Association is calling for an aid package of 95 million euros from the federal government.

Without help, there may soon be no more infrastructure
"Without this help, we won't be able to cope with the costs. Currently, 1000 volunteers nationwide cover 26,000 kilometers of trail, or 26 kilometers per person," says Schnabl. "If too many paths are buried and huts are closed, the whole network collapses." This is dramatic for tourism, as around two thirds of summer holidaymakers come to us every year because of the mountains.

The damage from the fall has not yet been quantified because it is now buried in snow. It is therefore impossible to say whether Upper Austria has been particularly hard hit. Higher, exposed and wooded areas are at great risk.

Georg Unterberger, Leiter der Abteilung Hütten und Wege

New tenant found
"Although an average of one and a half huts close in Upper Austria every year, none of them closed last year," says Georg Unterberger, Head of the Huts and Trails Department, reassuringly. Not a single hut is currently without a tenant. A new landlord was also recently found for the Seethalerhütte on the Dachstein, which was completely rebuilt between 2016 and 2018 and will take over at the start of the winter season.