What to know before the first hut
Everything on this page applies to all six routes, from the three-day Ötztal Hut Taster to the seven-day Julian Alps Traverse. Your trip page adds the day table and the 2027 dates.
Five grades, set by the numbers of each day
A grade comes from the day table of a route. We look at the kilometres and ascent of each day and at how many days over 800 m of ascent fall in a row. Fixed cables count too, and so does the ground underfoot, from good paths to steep rock. The one cabled section we walk is Forcia Ridge, on the last day of the High Dolomites Hut Route. We show the full scale, including the two grades we do not sell.
1
Up to 12 km and 400 m of ascent a day on good paths.
None at present
2
Up to 14 km and 1,000 m of ascent on the hardest day. Clear paths, no exposure.
3
One or two days with more than 1,000 m of ascent. Some steep, rocky ground.
4
Three or more days in a row with over 800 m of ascent, or sections with fixed cables.
5
Glacier or scrambling. We do not run grade 5 trips.
None
A high pass alone does not raise the grade. Ötztal Hut Taster crosses Grauer Joch at 2,860 m and stays grade 2. Its biggest climb, 986 m, and its longest day, 13.8 km, stay inside the grade 2 limits of 1,000 m and 14 km. Grava Pass Traverse is grade 3 because of one day, day 3, with 1,176 m of ascent over 14.3 km.
Train for the hardest day of your route
Start from the hills you already walk at home, in the Lake District, Snowdonia or the Highlands. Find the hardest day in the day table of your trip and walk something like it before you go. Match its kilometres and its ascent, and carry your rucksack packed.
Descent counts as well. On the last day of the Julian Alps Traverse you drop 1,807 m to Kot. That descent comes after 1,069 m of ascent to Škrbina, on a day of 18.3 km. Practise long descents, with poles if you use them, and walk two big days back to back at least once.
A rucksack of 30 to 35 litres, packed light
You carry your own rucksack from hut to hut. Aim for 30 to 35 litres, packed to 8 kg or less without water. The list below is the short version, and your route notes carry the full one.
- Rucksack, 30 to 35 litres, with a rain cover
- Walking boots, already worn in
- Waterproof jacket and trousers
- A warm layer and a spare base layer
- Hat, gloves and sun cream
- Water bottles for 1.5 litres
- Hut sleeping sheet
- Head torch and earplugs for the dormitory
- Small first-aid kit and your own medicines
- Money for lunches, drinks and any private room
- Your insurance details, with mountain rescue cover
How a night in a hut works
Each night is booked before you arrive, in huts and guesthouses on half board, with dinner and breakfast. Lunch is not included: buy it at a hut on the way or ask your hut for a packed lunch the night before. Dinner comes at a set hour, at shared tables. Blankets and pillows are on every bunk, but not every hut has a shower.
Dormitory
The standard night is a bed in a shared dormitory, with walkers from other groups as well as your own. Earplugs help you sleep through it.
Sleeping sheet
A hut sleeping sheet is the one piece of bedding you bring yourself. It goes between you and the hut's blankets.
Rescue cover for every walker
Every walker needs travel insurance with mountain rescue cover. It is compulsory, and we do not take anyone on a trip without it. Arrange a policy once your place is confirmed and bring its details with you.
Getting to the start village
You book your own journey to the start village. Fly into the airport for your region, then take the train and a bus; we send the timetable with your route notes. We meet in the start village at 9am on the first day.
The last day finishes around 3pm. A transfer from the finish, included in the price, takes the group back to the start village. You travel home from the village where you arrived.
Dolomites
Venice or Innsbruck
San Vidal, Val Dores
Stubai and Ötztal
Innsbruck
Stegenau, Ventrach
Julian Alps
Ljubljana
Log pod Vrhom, Dolinica
How booking works
Enquiry
Send an enquiry with the trip, the date you would like and the size of your group. An enquiry costs nothing and holds no place. Owen Pryce reads every enquiry and calls you to talk through the route. He will also ask what you have walked before.
Deposit and balance
A £250 deposit holds your place. The balance is due eight weeks before departure. Prices are per person and the same for every date of a route, so the date you pick never changes what you pay.
Cancellation terms
More than eight weeks before departure
You lose the deposit
Eight to four weeks before departure
50% of the price
Less than four weeks before departure
The full price
If fewer than four walkers have booked eight weeks before departure, we cancel and refund you in full or move you to another date.
Questions walkers ask us first
Choose a route, then tell us when
When you know the trip and the date, send an enquiry with the size of your group and what you have walked so far. Full dates keep a waiting list.
