The Olpererhütte is a refuge of the Neumarkt/Oberpfalz section of the German Alpine Club in the Zillertal Alps at an altitude of 2388 m above sea level in the Austrian province of Tyrol. The hut is a station in the course of three alpine altitude trails, the Zentralalpenweg 02 of the Austrian Alpine Association (ÖAV), the Berliner Höhenweg and the Tiroler Höhenweg. It can only be reached on foot. The walking time for the ascent from Schlegeisspeicher is about 90 minutes.
The hut is located on the Tux ridge, west above the Schlegeisspeicher 1782m. Neighboring huts are the Neue Dominikushütte directly on the reservoir to the east, the Pfitscher-Joch-Haus 2277 m to the southwest on the state border with South Tyrol, the Geraer Hütte 2326 m to the west and the Friesenberghaus 2477 m to the north.
The original construction
The refuge was built in 1881 by the Prague Section of the German and Austrian Alpine Club (DuOeAV). It was the second oldest alpine club hut in the Zillertal Alps after the Berlin hut from 1879. Originally, as a one-room hut, it had eight mattress stores and eight hay stores in the attic. On the first floor there was an iron cooking stove, the flue gases of which were led outside through the gable wall via a stovepipe; the climbers had to bring firewood and food for self-sufficiency.
On April 1, 1900, it was sold together with the Riffler Hut, which had been destroyed by an avalanche since 1945, to the Berlin Section of the DuOeAV for 11,000 marks. It soon became apparent that the capacity of the Olpererhütte was no longer sufficient due to the ever increasing number of visitors. It was not until 1933, however, that a fundamental expansion took place with an addition on the mountain side that contained a separate kitchen and additional overnight accommodations on the upper floor. Since then, the hut has been managed.[1]
The reconstruction in 1976
A new reconstruction in 1976 brought more modern sanitary facilities and an additional guest room, but the conditions still remained cramped, especially for the tenants of the now managed hut. The fully occupied hut narrowly escaped a catastrophe on the evening of July 31, 1998, when, due to a prolonged storm at high temperature, an ice and debris avalanche broke loose at the glacier gate of the Großes Riepenkees at an altitude of 2800 meters above the hut, but only touched the Olpererhütte at one corner of the house. The long-time tenant of the Olpererhütte, Olga Platzer from Ginzling († 2014), called the Olpererhexe, achieved a certain supra-regional fame due to her originality in dealing with guests in the often overcrowded hut.[2]
The new hut
Olperer hut with Schlegeis reservoir.
At the end of the 1990s, the general meeting of the Berlin Section of the DAV decided to sell the hut for financial reasons, because pending investments could no longer be made due to the requirements of the authorities regarding environmental protection, especially in the energy supply and wastewater treatment.
In 2004, the Olpererhütte was successfully sold to the Neumarkt/Oberpfalz Section with the aim of a fundamental renovation. However, it soon became apparent that a completely new building would be more economical due to the critical building fabric from the various eras. So it was decided to completely demolish the old Olpererhütte and replace it with a new building. The demolition was completed on August 28, 2006. The new design was undertaken by the architectural office of Diplom-Ingenieur Hermann Kaufmann, who worked out a simple structural form: The new hut should face the valley with its narrow gable end to allow a good integration into the environment. In the summer of 2007, the topping-out ceremony was celebrated and at the end of June 2008, the Neumarkt/Oberpfalz Section opened the now completed new Olpererhütte.
As a base for mountaineers and hikers, the Olpererhütte offers transitions to neighboring huts and routes to many peaks on the main Zillertal ridge.
Olpererhütte Info:
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olperer...