Gargellen (1423m) Located deep inside the Gargellental on the southern edge of the Rätikon Alps, Gargellen is served by bus from St Gallenkirch in the Montafon valley. It has limited facilities, but a good range of hotels, apartments and private rooms, a supermarket, post office and tourist information (tel 05557 6303 [email protected]www.gargellen.at).
Other Bases
Other Montafon villages offering accommodation at the foot of the Rätikon range include St Anton im Montafon (652m) on the right bank of the Ill, and Vandans (648m) which has a wide variety of hotels, apartments and private rooms located a short distance downstream from Tschagguns at the mouth of the Rellstal.
Mountain Huts
Douglass Hut (1976m) The original Douglass Hut was the first built by the DAV in 1872, and named after the British mountaineer John Sholto Douglass. With the creation of the Lünersee reservoir the former hut was flooded; its replacement dates from 1960, and is adjacent to the Lünersee cable-car station on the north shore of the lake at the head of the Brandnertal. Owned by the ÖAV’s Bludenz section, this Category II hut is staffed from the end of May to mid-October, has 64 beds in rooms, and 80 dormitory places (tel 05559 25962 www.douglasshuette.at).
Heinrich-Hueter Hut (1766m) Set below the impressive 2643m Zimba above the Rellstal and reached either in 2½hrs from the Douglass Hut or in 3–3½hrs from Vandans, this Category I hut is fully staffed from mid-June to the beginning of October. It has 20 beds in rooms and 90 dormitory places, and is owned by the Vorarlberg section of the ÖAV (tel 05556 76570 www.hueterhuette.at)
Lindauer Hut (1744m) A popular hut standing among pinewoods below the Drusenfluh at the head of the Gauertal, it is owned by the Lindau section of the DAV and is manned from the end of February to the end of March, and from June to mid-October. With 60 beds in rooms and 140 dormitory places, it may be reached by a walk of 2½hrs from Latschau near Tschagguns (tel 0664 5033456 www.lindauerhuette.at). Category I.
Madrisa Hut (1660m) Located southwest of Gargellen, this is an unmanned Category I hut owned by the Karlsruhe section of the DAV. It has just 15 dormitory places and may be reached by a walk of about 45mins from Gargellen (www.alpenverein-karlsruhe.de. Prospective users should enquire at the tourist office in Gargellen for the key holder.
Mannheimer Hut (2679m) The highest of the Rätikon huts, it makes a popular base for climbs on the north side of the Schesaplana. Situated close to the shrinking Brandner glacier it stands south of the Oberzalim Hut, albeit almost 800m higher than its neighbour. Owned by the DAV’s Mannheim section, it has 25 beds in rooms, and 150 dormitory places, and is staffed from July to mid-September (tel 0664 3524768 www.dav-mannheim.de/huetten). A Category I hut, it is reached in about 5hrs from Brand via the Oberzalim Hut.
Oberzalim Hut (1889m) Reached by a walk of about 2½hrs from Brand, this Category I hut is located near the head of the Zalimtal. Owned by the Mannheim section of the DAV, it has a total of 28 places and is staffed from mid-June to the end of September (tel 0664 1229305 www.dav-mannheim.de/huetten).
Tilisuna Hut (2211m) Overlooking a small tarn northeast of the Sulzfluh, and owned by the Vorarlberg section of the ÖAV, the Tilisuna Hut has places for 142 in beds and dormitories. A Category I hut, it is manned from mid-June to mid-October (tel 0664 1107969) and may be reached in 2½–3hrs from Tschagguns (www.tilisunahuette.at.
Totalp Hut (2385m) Reached by a walk of a little under 1½hrs from the Douglass Hut, this Category I building lies in a stony landscape below and to the east of the Schesaplana. Owned by the Vorarlberg section of the ÖAV, it is manned from the end of May to mid-October, and has 85 dormitory places (tel 0664 2400260 www.totalp.at).
ROUTE 1
Douglass Hut (1976m) – Lünersee Circuit – Douglass Hut
| Start | Douglass Hut (1976m) |
| Valley base | Brand |
| Distance | 5.5km |
| Height gain | c100m |
| Height loss | c100m |
| Grade | 1 |
| Time | 1¾ hrs |
| Location | At the head of the Brandnertal |
Lying in a natural basin below and to the east of the Schesaplana, the Lünersee was enlarged in the late 1950s by the construction of a dam at its northern end, which flooded the original Douglass Hut. Being accessible by cable-car, the undemanding lake circuit described here is understandably popular and likely to be very busy in summer. Although it is perfectly feasible to walk all the way from Brand to the Douglass Hut along the Schattenlagantweg and Böser-Tritt-Steig (3hrs), the normal approach is by car or bus to the Brandnertal roadhead, with the final 400m ascent via cable-car. The Douglass Hut is located a few metres east of the upper cable-car station, and its terrace is usually crowded with visitors when the sun shines.
Lünersee Alm
For the clockwise lake circuit simply continue eastwards across the dam along the Lünersee-Uferweg. Ignore the path breaking left to the Heinrich-Hueter Hut and follow the lake’s curving outline heading south and southwest towards a building on the Lünersee Alm (2000m) where there’s another junction. The left branch here climbs to the Cavelljoch on the Austro–Swiss border, and is also taken by the Rätikon Höhenweg Nord. For the lake circuit, however, wander westwards to yet another junction by the goods lift for the Totalp Hut, then veer right to return to the Douglass Hut along the lakeside in a further 30mins.
ROUTE 2
Douglass Hut (1976m) – Totalp Hut (2385m) – Lünersee Alm (2000m) – Douglass Hut
| Start | Douglass Hut (1976m) |
| Valley base | Brand |
| Distance | 7km |
| Height gain | 409m |
| Height loss | 409m |
| Grade | 3 |
| Time | 3hrs |
| Location | Southwest of the Douglass Hut at the head of the Brandnertal |
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