Sulzenauhütte

The Sulzenauhütte is a Category I mountain hut of the Leipzig Section of the German Alpine Club (Deutscher Alpenverein, DAV) in the Stubai Alps, Tyrol, Austria. It sits at 2,191 m above sea level (2,196 m according to the old hut sign) in a side valley of the Stubaital, on the Stubai High Trail. The hut is open from early June to early October and offers a winter room in the main building with twelve bunks. It is reached from the Stubaital near the Grawa waterfall in about two hours on foot, via the alpine meadows of the Sulzenaualm, which in the 1980s narrowly escaped being flooded by a large dam project. The most popular high tours from the hut are the Zuckerhütl (3,507 m), the Wilde Pfaff (3,458 m) and the Wilde Freiger (3,418 m), all reached over glaciers. In summer, climbing the Zuckerhütl is discouraged because of rockfall, and the approaches over the Sulzenauferner have become harder as the glacier retreats. By contrast, the increasing exposure of the Seescharte has made the ascent to the Wilde Freiger possible without glacier equipment under good conditions. Marked summit routes lead to the Apere Freiger (3,262 m), the Gamsspitzl (3,052 m), the Kleine and Große Trögler (2,885 m and 2,902 m) and the Mairspitze (2,781 m). Nearby destinations include the Grünausee, the Blaue Lacke and the Sulzenausee, which only formed in 2003 as the Sulzenauferner retreated. The hut is a classic Alpine Club refuge: it provides accommodation, meals and a base for mountaineers, and it is a stop on the Stubai High Trail. It is owned and operated by the Leipzig Section of the DAV, a non-profit alpine association, and is not a commercial hotel chain. Its history is closely tied to the German Alpine Club's division and reunification: built in 1926/1927, destroyed by an avalanche in 1975, rebuilt and reopened in 1979, and returned to the Leipzig Section in 2008. It was modernised in 2014/15.

The Sulzenauhütte's history begins in December 1924, when Alois Schöpf, a farmer in Pfurtschell and great-grandfather of the current hut tenant, sold a plot of the Sulzenaualpe to the Leipzig Section of the Deutscher und Österreichischer Alpenverein, which intended to build a hut there. The first Sulzenauhütte was built in 1926/1927 by the Leipzig architect Curt Einert (1863–1928) and opened on 27 August 1927. It had twelve beds and 24 bunks. In August 1939 a winter house was added, bringing capacity to 24 beds and 50 bunks, which made it necessary to build the 'Münchner Stube' as a second dining room. After the Allies banned the entire Alpine Club in 1945, the DAV was re-founded in 1952 only in West Germany; no new approval was granted in East Germany. Therefore, in 1953 a Leipzig exile section of the DAV was created, first based in Wuppertal and later in Munich. Through a sub-lease agreement, the Sulzenauhütte could be operated again from 1956. On 5 April 1975, however, the hut's winter house was completely destroyed and the main house two-thirds destroyed by an avalanche. Incorporating the remains of the old hut (the Leipzig and Munich rooms), a new hut was built on the same site according to modern standards by the Leipzig Section in Munich, and reopened in 1979 after three years of construction. The new hut's long reinforced-concrete flat roof was intended to protect it from renewed avalanche destruction. After the Leipzig Section, re-founded in Leipzig on 29 December 1989, was admitted to the DAV on 25 May 1990, the Leipzig Section in Munich renamed itself the Sulzenau Section in 1995. With the affiliation of the Sulzenau Section as a local group of the Leipzig Section, the Sulzenauhütte was taken over again by the Leipzig Alpine Club on 1 January 2008. In 2014/15 the Sulzenauhütte was modernised.

• 2014

  The Sulzenauhütte is modernised (2014/15).

• 2008

  On 1 January the Sulzenauhütte is taken over again by the Leipzig Alpine Club.

• 1995

  The Leipzig Section in Munich renames itself the Sulzenau Section.

• 1979

  The rebuilt hut reopens after three years of construction.

• 1975

  On 5 April an avalanche completely destroys the winter house and two-thirds of the main house.

• 1956

  The hut is operated again through a sub-lease agreement.

• 1953

  A Leipzig exile section of the DAV is created, based in Wuppertal and later Munich.

• 1939

  A winter house is added, increasing capacity to 24 beds and 50 bunks.

• 1927

  First Sulzenauhütte built by architect Curt Einert and opened on 27 August.

• 1924

  Alois Schöpf sells a plot of the Sulzenaualpe to the Leipzig Section of the DuÖAV.

A non-profit Alpine Club mountain hut (Category I) serving mountaineers and hikers in the Stubai Alps, not a commercial hotel.

• Overnight accommodation (beds and bunks)

• Winter room with twelve bunks

• Meals and drinks for visitors

• Base for high alpine tours

1. 1Sulzenauhütte – Wikidatawikidata.org
2. 2Sulzenauhütte – Wikipedia (German)de.wikipedia.org
3. 3Sulzenauhütte official websitesulzenauhuette.at