Monday, September 3, 2007

The refuge of the future

It is Schiestlhaus in Hochschwab, a demo building, with complete autonomy in electricity and water. And yesterday it was 2 years old.

The front, with the solar panels:



The back, with the rain water collecting system:



Solar panel, in mist:



At the entrance everyone must take house shoes:



The mountain boots and the wet raincoats stay in a special, very hot, room:



This is a dormitory with 11 beds. You must bring your sheets to sleep here. The beds are big and comfortable.



The big glass door to the dining room:



Dining room with mountaineers in action:



Very big windows with a panoramic view ... to the mist !



The place is haunted by the phantoms of some lost mountaineers...



But if you don't like this you may still find some emergency refuge, somewhere lost in the mountain...




Personally I have found the refuge too high tech, comfortable, but too luxurious, and I didn't quite liked the attitude of the refuge-keeper...
Maybe in 100 years most of the refuges will be like this, but it is sure that the refuges of the future are those keep by true mountaineers, with love of the mountain and respect of the people ;)

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