Heat and drought push Swiss mountain huts to the limit

High temperatures and dry conditions are putting increasing pressure on alpine huts and making mountain routes more dangerous, SRF reports.

At 3,260 metres, Martin Lehner had never seen so little snow at the Hörnlihütte mountain hut at the end of June. At that time of year, he and his team often still have to clear metres of snow from the terrace. This year, the snow had disappeared.

Without the snow that holds the rock together, loose stones are lying everywhere. As a result, climbing routes are riskier than in a normal summer, particularly when inexperienced climbers allow their ropes to drag across the rock.

“If you climb on a long rope, you move too many stones. That is dangerous for those below,” Lehner warned mountain guides. The Zermatt-based guide has taken guests up the Matterhorn almost 120 times and knows the risks of the famous four-thousand-metre peak.

In mid-July, guides from Zermatt temporarily advised against Matterhorn climbs because there was too little snow. If the freezing level remains above 5,000 metres for a week, rockfalls increase and conditions on the mountain become precarious, Lehner said. “Then, as a mountain guide, I have to switch to other destinations.” A rockfall occurred on the Italian side of the Matterhorn on August 5.

The Alps are likely to shed even more rock in future as glaciers retreat and frozen ground thaws, said Jan Beutel, who has studied permafrost on the Matterhorn for nearly 20 years. Large events involving one million cubic metres of material used to occur several decades apart, he said. “At present, we have more than one a year across the entire Alpine region.” At Blatten, 9 to 10 million cubic metres of debris poured into the valley.

Water shortages are also becoming more severe in the Alps. At the Lischana Hut above Scuol, Evelyne Allenbach was already measuring out water for cooking in mid-June. Only she and her partner, Christian Wittwer, could take showers. They run the Swiss Alpine Club hut together.

The fountain is still flowing at the start of the season, but after a few weeks the hut wardens turn it off as a signal to save water, even when supplies are still sufficient. Water is particularly valuable in the limestone landscape, where the ground stores little rainfall. By June, the snow at 2,500 metres had disappeared, while the Lischana Glacier, previously the hut’s most important resource, is expected to retreat completely within a few years. An attempt to store snow under a protective cover failed.

One in five Swiss Alpine Club huts is currently affected by water shortages. Switzerland has more than 150 such accommodation facilities, with the problem particularly affecting huts that rely solely on meltwater. The club is promoting measures including the installation of pit toilets and is urging visitors to save water.

Managing the water supply is labour-intensive. Wittwer has laid more than one kilometre of pipes above ground, which he checks regularly, while another kilometre of hose is buried underground.

There is, however, some reason for optimism. Several months ago, Wittwer discovered a spring at 2,900 metres. Algae and moss indicated that the ground was constantly damp. Tests showed that the spring produces about five litres of drinking-quality water per minute.

“If it is still working in 10 years, I will be happier than if I won the lottery,” said the 62-year-old forester, hunter and mountain guide. The spring has already survived the first severe thunderstorms, and Wittwer expects it to supply the hut even when it is fully occupied.