Muttseehütte

Muttseehütte is a mountain hut of the Swiss Alpine Club (SAC), Section Winterthur, located at 2,501 metres above sea level on the Mutten plateau above the Muttsee in the Glarus Alps, Canton Glarus, Switzerland. It sits near the Kistenpass, south of Linthal, and serves as a key overnight stop on high routes linking the Linthal valley with the Brigels and Elm areas. The hut is operated under the SAC system, with a hut warden couple managing reservations, catering and maintenance; the official website lists Rahel Koller and Cornel Ledergerber as the current hut warden team, with administration handled through RAC-Hütte.ch GmbH. The hut offers 69 sleeping places during the guarded season, which typically runs from mid-June to mid-October. Outside this period it remains open as a shelter with a winter room providing 8 sleeping places. Access is on foot only; the main approach from Linthal takes about 6.5 hours, from Tierfehd about 5 hours, and from the Kalktrittli cable-car station about 2.5 hours. The cable car Tierfed–Kalktritti, operated by Axpo, runs in tourist mode and shortens the approach considerably. Alternative routes come from Breil/Brigels over the Kistenpass (about 6 hours) and from Elm over the Panixer Pass (about 11 hours). The hut is a base for summits such as the Nüschenstock, Rüchi, Hausstock and Muttenstock. Historically, the hut was built in 1887 at the initiative of Johann Jakob Weber, founder of the Färberei Schleife dye works, and designed by Julius Becker, a hut-building pioneer who ran a spinning and weaving mill in Linthal. The original one-storey, 25-square-metre hut cost 900 francs to build, with transport costs of 1,600 francs, and accommodated 20 people. It was extended with a stove and wood store in 1902, and in 1934 a new building with 45 beds was inaugurated 200 metres from the old site. Later expansion brought capacity to 75 beds, and the hut was most recently renovated in 2013 at a cost of 1.3 million francs. The surrounding landscape changed with the damming of the Muttsee, first with an earth dam from 1959 and since 2014 with a concrete dam up to 30 metres high. Today Muttseehütte is marketed through its own website with online booking via the "Hut Reservation" system, seasonal status updates on trail conditions, and links to transport operators. It remains a non-profit club hut rather than a commercial hotel, but functions as a trademarked SAC facility and a recognised destination in the Swiss Alps.

Muttseehütte was built in 1887 on the initiative of Johann Jakob Weber, founder of the Färberei Schleife dye works, who maintained business ties to the textile industry in the Glarus region. The design came from Julius Becker, a hut-building pioneer who operated a spinning and weaving mill in Linthal and was a member of the SAC's Tödi section. The original hut accommodated 20 people, measured 25 square metres on one storey, and cost 900 francs to build; transport of the prefabricated hut from the valley cost 1,600 francs, more than the construction itself. It was equipped with sleeping platforms and a protected cooking area, and a toilet was added in the first summer. In 1902 the hut was extended with a stove and a wood store. By the 1930s it offered 35 sleeping places. In 1934 a new building with 45 beds was inaugurated 200 metres from the old location. That building was later expanded, at a cost of half a million francs, to its current size of 75 sleeping places. The hut was most recently renovated in 2013 for 1.3 million francs. The surrounding landscape was transformed by hydropower. The Muttsee was first dammed with an earth dam from 1959 for energy generation, and since 2014 the lake has presented a new appearance with a concrete dam up to 30 metres high. The access route via Limmernboden (reservoir) is no longer possible. Today the hut is owned and operated by the SAC Section Winterthur and remains a classic club hut with a guarded summer season and a winter room.

• 2026

  Summer season 2026: all trails open, cable car Tierfed–Kalktritti in tourist operation, hut fully open.

• 2014

  Muttsee dam replaced with a concrete dam up to 30 metres high.

• 2013

  Hut renovated for 1.3 million francs.

• 1959

  Muttsee first dammed with an earth dam for hydropower.

• 1934

  New building with 45 sleeping places inaugurated 200 metres from the old site.

• 1902

  Hut extended with a stove and wood store.

• 1887

  Muttseehütte built on the initiative of Johann Jakob Weber, designed by Julius Becker; original hut held 20 people and cost 900 francs.

Non-profit Swiss Alpine Club mountain hut positioned as a high-Alpine base for hikers and climbers in the Glarus Alps, with a long heritage dating to 1887.

• Guarded season accommodation (69 beds)

• Winter room (8 beds)

• Online reservation via Hut Reservation system

1. 1Startseite - Muttseehütte SACmuttseehuette.ch
2. 2Muttseehütte – Wikipediade.wikipedia.org
3. 3Muttseehütte – Wikidatawikidata.org