Austria’s alpine huts and trails crumble amid climate change

The historic Zittel hut on top of a snow-capped mountain high in the Austrian Alps has weathered many a storm.

But ever more extreme climate change is taking a terrible toll on the century-old wooden refuge.

“When your hand fits into a crack in the foundation, there is need for action,” says Georg Unterberger, who is in charge of mountain refuges and trails at the Austrian Alpine club.

The trails up to the refuge on the Hoher Sonnblick mountain, which stands at 3,106 metres (10,190ft), are also suffering.

A view from the summit of the Hoher Sonnblick mountain across the Fleiss Glacier, which like others is experiencing rapid ice melt because of climate change. Photo: AFP

Experts say warmer temperatures across the Alps are accelerating glacier melt and thawing permafrost, the year-round ice that binds together giant slabs of rock.