Wild weather capers

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Johannes and Elisabeth Gruber put their heart and soul into running the Ottokar-Kernstock-Haus on the Rennfeld.(Bild: Johannes-Peter Gruber)

Rain, windthrow and then snow in September: many Styrian hut landlords struggled with the weather this summer and fall. Nevertheless, they are reasonably satisfied at the end of the season.

Johannes Gruber reaches his workplace at 1630 meters on foot or on touring skis. "It's a brutal job," says the 57-year-old tenant of the popular Ottokar-Kernstock-Haus on the Rennfeld.

The past summer season was anything but satisfactory: "The weather was almost always bad at the weekends, then the early onset of winter in September with all the snow - we've never had such a bad season," sums up the passionate chef.

The Ottokar-Kernstock-Haus is located at 1630 meters above sea level.(Bild: TV Kapfenberg)

Together with his partner Elisabeth, Gruber runs the alpine clubhouse of the Bruck section, which is known above all for its excellent cuisine. The only positive thing about this season: "There was so much rain that we didn't have any water problems."

Cable car conversion
The summer was also unusually quiet at the Kaibling Alm. In addition to the weather, the Naturfreunde-Haus run by the Koller family had to contend with a second construction site: "The chairlift is currently being modernized, which is why only the old Tauern cable car was in operation," explains Hartwig Koller. "We really felt the effects of that."

The Kaibling Alm near Haus(Bild: Hartwig Koller)

This Sunday, Hermann Leitner from the Leobner Hütte am Polster invites you to "recycle leftovers". His hut was closed for 14 days because the area had to be cordoned off due to the windthrow. "I'm still happy - if only because of the many nice guests who come to me."