Solidarity and critical exchange

"We are really looking forward to it all year long", is the first thing the regular guests tell me as I join them at the Neuleutasch parking lot as a newcomer to the Hubertus weeks. The sun is just rising, causing the dew to rise from the meadows and bathing the colorful autumn leaves in warm morning light. The warm, friendly atmosphere welcoming me at the parking lot is not only due to this wonderful natural spectacle. I feel immediately welcome, immediately part of the group. Today, it consists of around 40 participants, nearly all of whom know each other well, know each other's strengths and weaknesses and take part in each other's experiences. "Good morning, how are you, did you cope well with yesterday's tour?" "Oh hi, it's great to have you back today, how was your trip yesterday?" These sentences are no mere pleasantries here. Perhaps that’s why some guests are still joining us at over 80 years old. "Leutasch and the Hubertus week offer so many opportunities even in old age", raves Rosi Berz, at 83 one of the oldest participants.

Picking everyone up and taking them along, that is the goal of Hans and Monika. That’s why during the Ganghofer Hubertus Week there are longer hikes filled with a lot of elevation gain, like the one to Puitegg, but also cozy walks, two services for Thanksgiving and in honor of Saint Hubert, as well as numerous gatherings for food, drink, and socializing. The "Kulinarium" that we're setting out for today is a mix: a short hike that ends with former nature innkeeper Hans-Peter Auer preparing "Leutascher Wildgröstl with fried egg" over an open fire. On the way, Hubertus Weeks founder Hans explains the flora and fauna of the region and frequently slips in his humorous remarks. So I’m left with the phrase "Where there's a lot of manure, there is Christ" in my mind, which simply means that manure was once a valuable resource for fertilization.

As we approach the hut, we can already hear the fried eggs sizzling in the pan, and a delicious aroma fills the air. The food, all organic and regional, tastes like Leutasch, like home, and is genuinely delightful— a feast that you rarely find on your plate today. After the first plates are empty, it’s time for socializing (Ratschen). Andrea and Herijo Fescharek, who traveled all the way from Rieseby (north of Kiel), have been coming to the Hubertus Week for ten years. Their first time was pure coincidence. "We were just visiting my family in Telfs and simply added the week" says Andrea, who has Tyrolean roots but moved to Hamburg in her childhood. "Since then we've been coming back every year." And this is despite the fact that, like many participants, they have nothing to do with hunting or forestry either professionally or privately.

For although the Name Ganghofer-Hubertus-Week and also the Program have their roots in hunting or forestry, the week is much more than a meeting of hunters and foresters. It is a week that focuses on nature as our habitat. Here, it is explained what nature, animals, and climate mean for us humans and how important hunters and foresters are as regulators. They are not, as is often suggested today, the villains who cut down living trees or shoot Bambi, but the good ones who carefully observe and care for our habitat. Hans, a former professional hunter and for many years a hiking and guest guide, therefore intentionally seeks exchange and wishes that locals or tourism employees would also participate in the week's offerings. I can only agree with him, as I have rarely learned as much about my homeland as I did during my two days of Hubertus Week.

The composition of the group defines the topics at Puitegg: while the themes of humor, solidarity, and long-time regulars were in the foreground during the cozy Kulinarium, here among the rugged cliffs of Leutascher Dreitorspitz and Gehrenspitze, serious issues take center stage: climate change, its impact on wildlife and forests, and the potential consequences for us humans in the coming decades. Hans has invited Michael Deutsch, the former responsible for the hunting area at Puitegg. Michael and Hans provide detailed insights that, while not diminishing the beautiful autumn day and the dreamlike hike in one of the more untouched spots of Leutaschtal, certainly provoke deep thoughts. "The higher temperatures make life difficult for mountain goats, like the chamois, and threaten them," explains Deutsch. There are many reasons for this: Due to their thermal hair, they can no longer feed during the day but can only rest in the shade. The increasing, rapidly growing vegetation also narrows the habitat above the tree line and no longer has the same nutritional value. Thus, the mountain goats retreat into the forest, leading to increased browsing. "The warmer temperatures threaten the forest anyway," says forester Schmidt. "Parasites like the bark beetle live at increasingly higher altitudes and could cause similar damage in the Alps in 20 years as is currently seen in the German lowlands, where tens of thousands of hectares of forest must be felled." Considering the significant protective function of the forest in our valleys, this poses a real and very concrete danger to us humans. The problem is primarily the speed of the change, for which our actions are clearly responsible, and that is something everyone agrees on. Because this takes away the opportunity for nature and animals to adapt.