How the Alpine Club Is Taking Action Against Reckless Hikers

October 15, 2026, 9:43 am | Read time: 5 minutes

When the mountain season reaches its peak, the alpine huts become crowded. Anyone planning an overnight stay at high altitudes should reserve in advance–and behave considerately. One particular behavior often causes discontent.

The demand for overnight stays in mountain huts by hikers has been steadily increasing for years. The German Alpine Club (DAV) recently observed a growing number of people in the mountains, with consequences: More and more often, the sleeping spaces in the huts are insufficient, which burdens not only the hikers but also the hut staff.

Annoyance of Double Bookings

An additional stress factor, according to the Austrian Alpine Club (ÖAV), is so-called double bookings–and these are significantly increasing, according to the association. In response to a TRAVELBOOK inquiry, it is said that it is probably only a few bad apples, but for the hut hosts, this is annoying. Hikers reserve sleeping spaces multiple times: either at different huts for the same day or at one hut for several dates. Depending on the weather or personal feelings, they cancel at short notice or simply do not show up. Thirty to forty percent of reservations at Alpine Club huts are canceled.

The ÖAV strongly criticizes: Such reservations are not only unfair to other hikers and the hut teams but also complicate the organization in the hut. Therefore, the urgent appeal: Make only serious reservations and communicate changes in plans early.

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Also interesting: 6 Tips for Safe Hiking and Choosing the Right Route

Digital Aids for Better Tour Planning

Reserving a sleeping space is easy–either by phone or email directly with the desired hut. Many huts in the Alpine region are also connected to the online system hut-reservation.org. Those who register there can not only make reservations but also use the Bettencheck tool to check where along their route spaces are still available.

For spontaneous mountain vacationers, the DAV additionally offers the Last-Minute Hut Beds map on its website. It shows available sleeping spaces for the next three nights in huts of the German, Austrian, and South Tyrolean Alpine Clubs.

A Hut Is Not a Hotel

Increased conflicts in mountain huts raise the question of whether the behavior of some guests has changed. The Austrian Alpine Club certainly sees a need for action: “Carelessness and inconsideration in Alpine Club huts are noticeably increasing,” the association explained last year in response to a dpa inquiry. Subsequently, the Alpine Club drafted a so-called Hut Etiquette with the most important behavioral rules. This and general tips have met with great interest among hut visitors. The Alpine Club is convinced that such communication measures can contribute to a better understanding, it explains in response to a TRAVELBOOK inquiry.

The most important rule remains: think ahead, plan fairly–and be considerate.

Fines for Double Bookings and Inconsideration

“Since 2020, I have been regularly on long-distance hikes, for days or weeks, over passes, through rain, in heat. The moment a hut appears is often magical. But this magic is increasingly being tarnished. I have seen people relieve themselves in nature just 10 meters from the hut entrance. In the Hohe Tauern, banana peels were lying around, and in the Dolomites, peach and plum pits were scattered on the slope. Even if it was ‘organic,’ these fruit types are not native to the mountains–and the remnants would take several years to decompose. Anyone who thinks this is harmless misunderstands the sensitive ecology of the high mountains. Not to mention the beer bottles left behind.

Therefore, it is right–and unfortunately necessary–that the Alpine Club has published a Hut Etiquette. Personally, it annoys me greatly that double bookings keep happening. This leaves no space for people who really need the shelter. Even worse are forgotten cancellations. It is part of the hut staff’s duties to investigate why registered hikers do not arrive at the hut. Anyone who has the disrespect to create more work for the hosts–or, in the worst case, even risk the mountain rescue being called out–should then also pay a fine. I consider at least 50 euros appropriate, just to relearn normal coexistence.

But even if you make it to the hut, not all mountaineers are interested in the common good. Dry hiking boots have no place on the shoe heater when others arrive soaking wet. And the hallway in the sleeping area is not a storage place for hiking backpacks when the path to the bed becomes an uphill climb for others. Also, the trash that some apparently do not want to take back down to the valley should not clog the hygiene bin in the toilet. At 2,600 meters, there is no garbage collection!

All this shows that many lack an understanding of what a hut actually is–not a hotel, but a place of community and conscious use of limited resources. The Hut Etiquette is therefore not a bureaucratic bulwark, but an invitation to respect the shared mountain experience (again)–and to behave like someone who truly loves nature.”

With material from dpa

This article is a machine translation of the original German version of TRAVELBOOK and has been reviewed for accuracy and quality by a native speaker. For feedback, please contact us at info@travelbook.de.