Rappensee Hut Explained

Rappensee Hut
Mountain Range:	Allgäu Alps
Location:	near the Rappensee
Place:	Oberstdorf
Coordinates:	47.2889°N 10.2549°W
Elevation:	2091
Owner:	DAV - Allgäu-Kempten Section
Url:	http://www.rappenseehuette.de
Bunks:	115
Mattresses:	189
When Open:	mid-June to mid-October
Ac Hut:	DAV
Type:	hut
Ac Category:	1
Id-Oeav:	0715
Id-Dav:	222503
Winter Room:	24

The Rappensee Hut (German: Rappenseehütte) is an Alpine Club hut belonging to the Allgäu-Kempten Section of the German Alpine Club. With 304 bedspaces it is the largest of all the 327 huts of the German Alpine Club.^[1] It received a record number of guests on 19 September 1970 with 681 people overnighting. On average the hut has about 15,000 overnight stays per year.^[2]

Location

The Category 1 hut is situated in the Allgäu Alps in southern Germany, a few kilometres south of Oberstdorf on a grassy terrace near the lakes of Little and Great Rappensee. The most important summits in the vicinity are the Biberkopf and Hohes Licht. The well known Heilbronn Way begins and ends to the east and above the Rappensee Hut.

History

The Rappensee Hut was built in 1885. After several extensions it has become the largest hut in the German Alpine Club.

In August 2009 after drinking water over 100 guests at the hut complained of gastroenteritis and circulatory problems and some had to be evacuated by helicopter and treated in hospital.^{[3] [4]} Because the problem with the drinking water system was allegedly already known about, investigations were begun into the possibility of negligence.^[5] The case was decided on 6 July 2010 by the Sonthofen District Court who issued a fineof 2000 €.^[6]

Hut approaches

• From Birgsau (956 m, bus from Oberstdorf) via Einödsbach and the Enzian Hut in ca. 4 hours
• From Lechleiten (1,541 m, Austria) via the Lechleitner Alm in ca. 2½ hours
• From Prenten (Austria) through the Hochalpbach valley in ca. 4 hours

Crossings

The nearest other huts are

• Waltenberger Haus (2,084 m, ca. 4 hours) on the Heilbronn Way
• Kemptner Hut (1,844 m, 5–6 hours) on the Heilbronn Way
• Mindelheimer Hut (2,058 m, ca. 4 hours)
• EnzianHut (1,804 m, ca. 1 hour)
• Fidere Pass Hut (2,067 m), with a climb to the Enzian Hut and Breitengernalpe (1,156 m) as well as the Fiderescharte (2,214 m)
• Holzgauer Haus (1,512 m, ca. 3 hour).

Hiking routes

• Heilbronn Way (Heilbronner Weg) to the Kemptner Hut (ca. 5–6 hours)
• Biberkopf (2,599 m, ca. 2½ hours)
• Hohes Licht (2,651 m, ca. 1½ hours)
• Rappenseekopf (2,468 m, ca. 1 hours)
• Hochrappenkopf (2,423 m, ca. 1 hours)

External links

• Information about the hut at the Kempten DAV Section site

Notes and References

1. Web site: Bergerlebnis Alpenvereinshütten: Starke Marke – Stolz und Last . Andi Dick . German Alpine Club . Panorama – Magazine of the German Alpine Club . 38–45 . Jan 2013 . 2013-01-21 . pdf; 1.3 MB.
2. Web site: Einkehr – Zuflucht – Unterkunft: Berghütten in den Alpen . Gaby Funk . Munich Section of the German Alpine Club . alpinwelt – The mountain magazine for Munich and Oberland . 6–27 . 2012-05-21 . 2013-01-21. pdf; 6.2 MB.
3. Web site: Miese Erreger im Wasser . . 2009-08-09 . 2014-05-18.
4. Web site: Dreckiges Wasser: 40 Wanderer mit Helikopter ausgeflogen . . 2009-08-09 . 2014-05-18.
5. Web site: Darmgrippe im Allgäu: 145 Wanderer erkranken auf Almhütte . . 2009-08-09 . 2014-05-18.
6. Web site: Verfahren gegen Hüttenwirt eingestellt . . 2010-07-06 . 2014-05-18.