Does anyone have any experience of good Alpine huts that I can take the kids up to ? Aged 7,9 & 10 & all pretty robust boys. My husband is looking to acclimatise for climbing Killimanjaro, so something high reached maybe by a cable car would be ideal . Any thoughts appreciated, meanwhile I will follow the links on the recent hiking thread. Very helpful.

Thanks Rachel (In the USA, moving to Zurich end July).

to the mountains of Switzerland, Rachel!

One possibility is the Britannia Hut (elevation 3,030 meters). It is easily reachable in 45 minutes from the Felskinn cableway (a couple of kilometers with almost no elevation gain), or by a 2 hour walk from the Plattjen gondola (4½ kilometers with about 550 meters of elevation gain).

I have read more than once of mountaineers acclimatizing at the 3100 Kulmhotel Gornergrat which (surprise!!) is situated at an elevation of 3,100 meters. It is reachable by train. The views are spectacular (I hiked up for the day in 2008), the prices, alas, are what you might expect in a unique setting.

As long as they are respectful of hut rules and of others staying there, there shouldn't be a problem. If they are in a hut frequented by other climbers who may be going to bed early and getting up early then you need to take that into consideration based on your knowledge of how 'robust' your boys are in the evening.

A long and tiring hike up to the hut rather than a cable-car trip should sort that out!

hi Rachel, maybe not high enough for your husband's training, but I really like Zapporthuette, which is at 2,276 meters. I stayed there last year, and there was a family with children about the age of your boys there overnight as well. It's very small, so it might a good place to get your kids used to staying in huts - totally simple, charming and old-skool.

Thank you, this is so helpful. I think we might try for the Brittania hut (appropriate as we are British !), looks beautiful & Saas Fee looks like a fun place to hang out in too. Really appreciate the pointers. I will let you know how we get on. Rachel.

We just took a class of teens to this place, it was fab. Short hike up and super steep hills (after a cable car, that took 1000m up, the rest up till 2200 was a hike) ensurred a lovely sleep .. The wodden cabin was very practical with everything available and was not expensive at all.

http://www.perry.ch/wp/scex-carro-de...ampex-dalesse/
http://www.skipass.com/blogs/clash/s...-de-fully.html