Top tip
Always take a tent, in case the bothy is full, plus a sleeping mat for a more comfortable night’s sleep. There may be a sleeping platform, but if it’s busy you might have to sleep on a stone floor.
Mountain huts
Hut-hopping is great way to travel. Refuge de la Croix de Bonhomme on the Tour du Mont Blanc, France (Route 9)
Hut-to-hut running is a fantastic, cost-effective way of fastpacking through the Alps and other European mountain ranges, and it doesn’t involve carrying a tent, stove or sleeping bag. Running between mountain huts (also known as refuges, rifugios, Hütten and cabanes), where you can get a bed, hot dinner and breakfast, means you only need to carry essential gear; and a lighter pack means that you can move more quickly and comfortably through mountainous terrain.
High-level mountain huts are an alien concept to many British hikers, and yet there are thousands of them across the continent. They are generally situated at a key pass or high on a mountain, without vehicle access and open from June until October, with some open in the spring ski-touring season. Huts can come in all shapes and sizes, and range from the most basic of bivouac shelters for climbers and mountaineers to larger establishments that almost resemble hotels – imagine a high-altitude hostel with cosy bunks and thick blankets, superb views, hearty food, and a common room filled with outdoorsy types from all over the world. Huts let you travel light and live well, costing typically €50 a night for half-board, for a bed in a dormitory or twin room. Although a mattress and bedding are provided, you must also bring and use your own sheet sleeping bag.
Huts are a tourism industry in themselves. In an Italian rifugio, you might enjoy multi-course meals, a bar, proper Italian coffee, showers and drying facilities. Some even have hot tubs outside! Meanwhile, Norway’s huts are often unstaffed and work on a basis of co-operation and trust. You are relied on to make a payment for a stay and food taken from their stores, and to leave things the way you found them. Well equipped, cosy, comfortable and warm, with plenty of firewood, these make a welcoming stay after a day on the trails.
Guidebooks are usually the best source of information on the existence and location of huts, but many refuges now have their own websites giving details of accommodation, facilities and contact details so that you can book ahead. Appendix A includes the websites of the main European Alpine Clubs, where you will also find hut information.
The Mountain Hut Book (Cicerone Press) is an excellent introduction to mountain huts and refuges for walkers and trekkers. It explores the mountain hut experience, from how huts have developed to modern-day hut etiquette, and also includes profiles of the author’s favourite refuges and recommended hut-to-hut routes in the Alps and Pyrenees.
Top tips
Membership of the UK branch of the Austrian Alpine Club – www.aacuk.org.uk – is worth considering as this includes rescue insurance and hut discounts.
Members of the British Mountaineering Council – www.thebmc.co.uk – can buy a Reciprocal Rights Card which gives discounted rates in huts, including those owned by the Alpine Clubs of France, Switzerland, Germany, Holland, South Tyrol, Austria and Spain.
Membership of the Alpine Club – www.alpine-club.org.uk – also provides some hut discounts.
Always check a hut is open when you are visiting. Have an idea of where you will stay and book ahead in high season, when huts will often be busy with both walkers and locals using them for weekend activities. Bed spaces and meals at huts can usually be booked via email and phone.
September is often a great time for Alpine fastpacking. The weather is usually good and, since it’s out of season, the huts usually aren’t as busy.
Where should I go fastpacking?
Breathtaking Glen Affric on a multi-day run across Scotland
As important as it is to pack light, choosing your route is perhaps key to your enjoyment – whether you design your own or follow an existing one. Fastpacking is about running to a place you can’t get to in just a day and there are many ways of doing this, from a short, out-and-back trip with an overnight stay, to doing a national trail over several days, to planning your own journey lasting weeks. Some adventurers have even run around the world.
Fastpacking routes fall into two categories: the ‘loop’, which starts and ends at the same place; and the ‘through route’, which is linear in nature and may require the additional logistics of returning to the start.
For time reasons, loops are often preferred by fastpackers, especially on shorter trips. These make great weekend micro-adventures, such as a two-day run on the Gower Peninsula, stopping at a bunkhouse – but they could be longer journeys, as in a full five-day circuit of Mont Blanc.
Through routes are great for longer trips, giving the satisfaction of making a point-to-point journey under your own steam and seeing your surroundings constantly change. However, you will need to factor in the logistics of travelling back to the start or perhaps to a different location. Trips you could try include taking a train out to a start point and running home over two or three days, or perhaps following an existing long-distance route such as a national trail.
A cloud inversion in the Italian Alps on the Grand Traversata delle Alpi (Photo credit: Chris Councell)
Designing your own route
Researching and planning your own route allows you to take in the landmarks you want to see, trails you want to run or perhaps hills you want to climb.
While training for the Marathon des Sables, for example, two friends ran 25 miles of the Wye Valley Walk, from Hay-on-Wye to Hereford, with an overnight stop at a guesthouse, and then back via the same route the next day.
Another group of fell runners head up to Scotland each year with lightweight mountain marathon gear so they can run and walk their own routes over a long weekend. One of their most memorable journeys was a three-day, two-night trip, parking at Muir of Ord and getting the train across to Attadale on the west coast, then running back and wild camping along the way, far from roads and staying high on the hills. You can simply pick a place you’ve always wanted to visit and design a trip around it.
Approaching Hay-on-Wye at the end of a three-day run across Wales (Photo credit: Chris Councell)
Long-distance walking routes
Choosing established routes, whether in the UK, Europe or further afield, generally means that there will be good transport connections, accommodation and services en route, making organisation and logistics much easier. There are often luggage-moving services available too. From a planning perspective, guidebooks and maps will be readily available, as well as online resources.
The UK has many well-established national trails and fantastic
