A day at the mountain hut Collado Jermoso

9TH SEPTEMBER 2022

Working in a mountain hut is something amazing, it is undeniable. However, as every job, it has its pros and cons. Obviously, as it is said, the huts are the mountain’s lighthouses and people working there daily take care of the hut in order to continue like this.

Many people could think it is overall a hotelier job, but behind that facade, a deeper labor is hidden, for example, taking care of any mountaineer who want to go into the “Picos de Europa” or in any other mountainous terrain on the world.

Our daily routine begins as all the good things in life, with a great coffee. We begin the day really early, before the sun appears; then, for everyone who spent the night and want it, we prepare with detail an incredible breakfast.

The important thing is not to skimp on anything. We think that is the motto of a great guard. No one can get up from the table hungry and always, within our possibilities, we offer a well-balanced diet. Something pretty relevant to successfully end an activity.

Once we say goodbye and wish a great route to the last of our visitants, we start working hard to leave Jermoso as it deserves. As an amazing place and as clean as possible. While some colleagues begin polishing at the music rhythm from the radio, the other ones turn on fires to cook. The middays aren’t quite busy although there is always someone wanting something to eat.

 

The most important here is checking the agenda. If we know how many customers we are going to have at night, we will be able to take advantage of our resources as much as possible and so that avoid wasting. Moreover, it is important to bear in mind the mountaineer who suffers some food problem and need a bit more of care on his plate.

It looks like everything is ready, but still one of our main characters need to wake up… the beer tap!

When the beer tap is on, it’s time to reequip the bar. Turning on fridges, reorganizing beds for the next visits, kneading the bread and infinite additional things that make the time fly.

Sometimes we stumble onto some troubles. A clogged toilet, some problems with the machines, broken pipes, missing mountaineers that need indications or even worse, an accident. Where everything must be as precise as possible and where we need to give all of us to ease the labor of the rescue teams and get a happy ending.

As you can see, getting bored isn’t a possibility and there is not a day just like other.

With the first sunset’s lights the ones that spent the day here start to leave and the visitors spending the night start to come.

We find all kind of faces. Happy, tired, exhaust, euphoric, and some serious face that usually gets better with some slippers and a tasty dinner. Sometimes we need to cure some wound or get away out of the hut to support some mountaineer who can not see the end and the late meters has become kilometers for him.

When everyone is located, registered, and rested, we make the final effort. The good music come back, the pots begin to heat up and among good vibes everyone gets dinner. Sometimes we need to visit some forgetful person who fell asleep in the shower or while he was preparing the sleeping bag on the mattress. We try the punctuality to be the priority in order to get everything as expected and being able to end the day with the icing on the cake, our fantastic sunset.

We are satisfied with the reddish of the mountains that we can see through the windows. There is still labor to do and maybe some mountaineer will arrive wanting something to drink, to eat or rest. For us, it is so important that the visitors coming as well as leaving can achieve their goal: an unforgettable memory of Jermoso.