Head for Heights: Monte Rosa Hut

Zermatt / Canton of Valais / Switzerland At an exposed 9,459 feet (2,883 m) above sea level, the Monte Rosa hut is indeed as remote and high up as it looks. Advanced mountaineering gear and skills are necessary to reach it. The strenuous four-hour trek up involves a 1,640-foot (500 m) gain in altitude, traversing a glacier, and conquering a 98-foot (ca. 30-meter) rock wall. However, hikers will be rewarded with a spectacular, untouched alpine landscape and an unforgettable view of the majestic Matterhorn.

“The Monte Rosa hut is not a hotel,” stresses Peter Planche from the Swiss Alpine Club. Rather than individual rooms, the high-alpine, 120-bed hut has group rooms, each with three to eight bunk beds. The Monte Rosa hut is a popular refuge among heli-skiers on their way down the Monte Rosa massif.

Stunning in its minimalism, the Monte Rosa Hut represents a milestone in off-the-grid, high-alpine modern architecture. △