Rooms with a View Amid the Rude Elements of Nature, Rock, Snow and Ice, the Hut Is a Life-Giving Oasis
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1 Rooms with a view Amid the rude elements of nature, rock, snow and ice, the hut is a life-giving oasis. (Herbert Maeder, The Mountains of Switzerland) ll morning the trail had gained and study of the map showed there were sev- Alost so much height that I seemed eral kilometres still to cover, and more to be getting nowhere in a hurry, when than 700m to climb in order to gain the at the foot of yet another steep descent pass whose crossing was to be the crux the way divided, offering an escape route of the route. I felt unaccountably old into the valley. Having been on the go and out of touch. My knees hurt and for 5 hours and with at least another I was running short of puff. Yet 10 min- 2½ hours ahead of me (if the guardian utes’ rest, an over-ripe banana and half at last night’s hut at the head of Val de a bar of chocolate put a bit of fuel in my Bagnes was to be believed), I was almost engine, and I set off again with optimism tempted to take it – especially as close and energy restored. 15 The spectacle of alpenglow on the Combin massif is one of the rewards for a night spent at the Panossière hut Mountain Hut USE THIS CLARE.indd 15 02/02/2018 14:20 The Mountain Hut Book Two hours later I kicked my way up day’s mountain thirst with more over- a snowfield, crossed two false tops and priced cans of beer than were good for emerged at last on the sun-dazzling crest me, at 7pm that evening, along with 20 of the Col des Otanes. The view directly or so other climbers and walkers, I was ahead revealed a wonderland of ice and working my way through a large plate snow, with Combin de Corbassière rising of tender meat and spaghetti when sud- above its glaciers, the great dome of the denly all conversation ceased. In its place Grand Combin to the south, and the Dents came the clatter of cutlery on china as du Midi, around which I’d trekked only a everyone grabbed their cameras and few days before, juggling wispy clouds to rushed outside. the north. It was a view that would have There at the head of a vast glacial taken my breath away, if I’d had any to highway, the Grand Combin was turning spare, and it made all the effort to get scarlet before our very eyes, its summit there worthwhile. snows reflecting the dying sun in a riot In no hurry now, I sat on my rucksack of alpenglow, while a 1200m cascade of in the snow to savour the moment, squint- ice disappeared into a rising cauldron of ing in the sunlight and soaking in the view shadow. It was one of those sights that before descending at snail’s pace, content none of us who saw it will ever forget, yet with the knowledge that before long I’d be it was just one of many that the hut pro- able to relax with a cold beer in hand, the vided at no extra cost. promise of a refreshing shower, a bed for the night, a three-course meal, and maybe ‘the Grand Combin a carafe of red wine to celebrate – not in some fancy resort hotel, but in a mountain was turning scarlet hut set beside a glacier. A couple of hundred metres below before our very eyes’ the col, the hut was even better than I’d hoped. Sturdy, spacious and welcom- Night fell not long after, leaving ing, Cabane de Panossière stands on the each one of us marooned in a world of right-hand lateral moraine of the Cor- our own – a world centred on a solitary bassière glacier in a world of its own. It building astride a wall of moraine among has no neighbours, other than the rock, alpine giants. Peace settled; there were snow and ice of the mountains that drew no alien sounds, just the occasional clunk me and the other visitors to it, and in the and slither of a rock falling onto ice. It warmth of that bright summer’s day it had was no more threatening than the pulse everything I could possibly want or need. beat of mountains at rest. Given a mattress in a room overlook- At 2am I slid off my bunk, tiptoed ing the glacier, and after satisfying a long to the window and counted the stars, 16 Mountain Hut USE THIS CLARE.indd 16 02/02/2018 14:20 1 Rooms with a view some of which settled on creamy sum- mountaineers, and, in common with the mits more than 1500m above me. In the vast majority, is located amid magnifi- darkness, the great peaks watched over cent scenery. This one, at 2645m in the Cabane de Panossière and its guests, all Pennine Alps of canton Valais in Switzer- of whom – except for me – were sleep- land, belongs to the Bourgeoisie de Ba- ing, unaware of the beauty of the scene gnes, while its predecessor, destroyed beyond the window. by avalanche in 1988, was owned by the As for me, there was nowhere else I’d Swiss Alpine Club (Schweizer Alpen-Club, rather be, for my simple dormitory was SAC). It can sleep 100 in its dormitories, the ultimate room with a view. and is manned by a guardian (or warden) during the spring ski-touring season and Huts for all for about three months in the sum- Like thousands of others scattered mer, when meals, drinks and snacks are across the alpine chain, the Panossière available. Hut (www.cabane-fxb-panossiere.ch/ That, in a nutshell, sums up a mod- en) provides overnight accommodation ern mountain hut. It’s a bit like a youth for walkers, trekkers, climbers and ski hostel, offering simple, reasonably priced 17 Trekking group on the trail leading to the Schesaplana Hut Mountain Hut USE THIS CLARE.indd 17 02/02/2018 14:20 The Mountain Hut Book accommodation and meals in a magical halfway house in which to relax during setting for visitors taking part in moun- adventures ‘out there’. tain activities. A ‘hut’ in the conventional OK, maybe I’m nudging towards a sense it is not. There is no resemblance romantic view, for it must be admitted to a garden shed, as the word might sug- there are those who think less favour- gest, although one of its predecessors, ably of the hutting experience than I. In a simple wooden cabin built nearby in his introduction to100 Hikes in the Alps, 1893, may well have been, for there were American author Harvey Edwards sets very few luxuries available in those far-off out his objections. ‘They are wonderful days. protection in a storm,’ he says, ‘but I’ve A few of those early mountain refug- yet to catch up on all the nights’ sleep es that gave little more than rudimentary I’ve lost. Someone is always snoring, shelter still exist today, but the majority sneezing, singing, smoking, or getting up have evolved, thank goodness, into much at 1:00am to start a climb. In season, the more comfortable buildings (the most huts are overcrowded and often unbear- recent claiming eco-friendly credentials, able. Still, a trip to the Alps isn’t worth with solar generators and innovative a schnitzel if you haven’t tried a hut at means of water purification) that pro- least once.’ He then goes on to recom- vide overnight lodging with all, or most, mend using a tent. mod cons, three- or four-course meals Now I like wild camping too, and biv- and an experience to remember. Every vying alone in remote places lost above year, thousands of mountain enthusi- the clouds. But there’s something very asts from all over the world have reason special about huts, their welcome shel- to be thankful for their existence, for ter and the camaraderie they inspire – they’re much more than a simple home- especially in the Stube (common room/ from-home in what can sometimes be a dining room) after a hard day in the hills, wild and uncompromising environment. or (as Harvey Edwards implies) when a Up there, you can make contact with storm explodes outside. Any old port in others who share your interests, build a storm, you might think. Well, yes, but friendships, exchange stories and gather that’s only a part of it. Having had a role valuable up-to-date information about to play in the history of mountaineer- route conditions and weather forecasts ing, they’ve since become an important, from the guardians, a number of whom you might say an essential, part of the are also experienced mountain guides. whole alpine experience – and when I Up there, you’re in another world, di- say alpine, I don’t just mean the Euro- vorced from everyday concerns. Up pean Alps (although that’s the focus there, mountain huts become a means of this book), but any high mountain of escape from one reality to another, a region where simple lodgings have been 18 Mountain Hut USE THIS CLARE.indd 18 02/02/2018 14:20 1 Rooms with a view After a hard day on the hill, the Stube invokes a warm sense of camaraderie as strangers who share a common enthusiasm become new- found friends provided for those of us who are active in the great ‘out there’ and who, like me, look forward to spending a few nights of a holiday resting somewhere up there between heaven and earth.