Hut tour - a culinary alpine experience

Not for absolute light-weight fanatics

The Lechquelle tour with exquisite espresso

When hiking through a hut, every gram of weight counts. You carry basically everything you need during the tour in your backpack, apart from the food that is available in the huts in the evening. But there's one thing I've never had in all my hut tours: good coffee. Neither in the afternoon, when you arrive at the hut completely exhausted and tired and could really use a delicious sip of the black gold, nor in the morning after generally moderately restful nights on cots in uncomfortable hut sleeping bags.

So: what to do with the bad mood and tiredness?

Correct! For 6-7 days in a row you carry the necessary equipment with you to be able to drink a delicious and really good espresso anywhere in the world. What exactly that is and why I am convinced that exactly these components are the right ones for almost every wild and adventurous trip is what I am writing to you today in my little report.

In the middle of the climb to the Göppinger Hut, a beautiful high alpine slab with small lakes and partly very rocky terrain

The Tour

Ups, downs and always an espresso at the ready

We ventured on the Lechquelle tour . Beautifully located on the Arlberg, the 6-day tour, which is sometimes demanding in terms of fitness, but above all has a breathtaking landscape, extends over five huts in the Schwaben direction.

And as already written in the introduction - this is not possible without the right equipment on the mountain. The right shoes (I broke in my new Scarpa 💪), a suitable backpack, everything as light as possible and the most important thing: 250g of one of my absolute favorite espresso beans from Municoffee from Lindau: Papua New Guinea (more on that later) with an espresso-capable, light hand mill, for example the Slim 3 from Timemore and of course our beloved Wacaco Picopresso - probably the smallest espresso machine that can really conjure up absolutely high-quality espresso - actually crazy for the 350g lightweight.

This gives me about 1 kilo of additional weight, with a small 350ml thermos flask for the boiling water maybe 1.5 kilograms. Not for absolute light-weight fanatics, definitely for coffee enthusiasts. The espresso on the Braunarlspitze , for example, excuses some hardships with a 360 degree panoramic view. It's simply a different feeling of freedom and enjoyment at this height - and you'll be sure to get looks from fellow hikers (as well as envy).

The Lechquelle tour is an absolute recommendation. The 5 huts to be reached (in the order in which we did the tour): Biberacher Hütte , Göppinger Hütte , Freiburger Hütte , Ravensburger Hütte and Stuttgarter Hütte all have their own charm, unique views and the tours are highly recommended even in hazy, rainy weather . From 28 degrees and pure sun to 13 degrees and drizzle walking through clouds, we had a whole range of weather to adapt to.
The total running distance of around 50 km, spread over 4500m (depending on how many optional peaks you take, you can also reach it with 3500 or 5500 meters in altitude) is almost entirely at alpine level, not super demanding in terms of technique, but definitely nothing for absolute beginners.

And what do I do with it now?

Of course, it sounds crazy at first to carry 1.5 kilograms of coffee equipment on top of the 6 kilograms in your backpack, but I tell you: it's worth it. If you want to do a leisurely hut tour and are not a trail runner, then you will quickly forget the extra weight if you can drink your espresso like in a café, whether you are climbing a peak at 3,000m or taking a relaxing break down at the reservoir. This is really something very special.
The tour is absolutely recommended, not for complete beginners, but the landscape is really unique and one of the most beautiful tours we have done so far.
If you would like more details about the tour itself, please have a look at our DAV friends. They have a great overview with some options.

From a culinary point of view, I would like to once again highlight the Stuttgarter Hütte. Ang Kami, the Nepalese hut host, conjures up authentic Nepalese food alongside the absolute mountain classics and creates a very special atmosphere with his warmth and openness. The hut is in a great location and can be reached with manageable effort, for example from Zürs.

Stay clean and drink good coffee!
Your Samuel from BRWT