How on Earth (at 3,014 m) Did They Pull This Off?

The High Altitude Dreamers of Altihut 3014. 
The last time anyone dared to build something above 3,000 meters in the Greater Caucasus was back in the 1940s. That was during the darkest chapter of Georgia’s modern history, when the country was under the iron grip of the Soviet Union, the so-called empire of evil. It was Lavrenty Beria, head of Stalin’s infamous NKVD, who ordered the construction of the Meteo Station (now the Bethlemi Hut) at 3,700 meters, more fortress than refuge, built by forced labor in brutal conditions.

Fast forward to 2016, in Free and Independent country of Georgia, That’s when three slightly unhinged but crazily determined Georgians, driven by mountain madness, bikes with imbrobabilty drive energy, and a healthy disregard for logistics (at least some of this trio), set their eyes on the high plateau beneath Mount Kazbeg. We weren’t alone. The mission gained a spark of magic when Swiss master carpenter and alpine whisperer Kurt Wandfluh entered the story. A man as skilled with wood as he is with gin-and-tonic diplomacy, Kurt believed that the rugged heart of the Caucasus deserved a Swissengineered mountain hut.
Back in Wil, one of the beautiful cities in Switzerland, Kurt rallied the legendary Stefan Müller in his S. Muller, and the powerhouse team from S. Müller Holzbau GmbH (SMÜ). Plans were drawn, wood was prepared, and the hut began to take shape, not yet on the mountain, but in Wil. It was here that the first miracle happened: a group of dedicated Swiss volunteers stepped in as believers in this project.

Markus Nischt, Mario Filli, Ivo Merkli, Christa Rudin and Peter Rudin joined the effort, contributing not just sweat and skill, but soul. Christa and Peter Rudin, in particular, supported the build with a generous donation that funded the innovative screw system, anchoring the hut’s lightweight yet durable frame, engineered to withstand the fury of alpine winds. 

The Swiss team was acompanied by our partner and great friend, Mathias Heidegger, a man whose calm precision and quiet strength matched the mountains themselves. A legendary figure in his own right, Mathias brought not only expertise and Swiss discipline, but also a deep love for Georgia that turned a construction site into a shared dream.

In May 2018, the second miracle unfolded. Thanks to Gebrüder Weiss, the prefabricated hut traveled from Switzerland to the Georgian highlands. There, legendary Swiss helicopter pilot Franz Cotting took over, delivering the hut’s components to a foundation painstakingly prepared a year earlier by Avto Gvaladze’s Imeks team, navigating cliffs, wind, and clouds like a mountain magician.

Altihut took on its final form, not just a structure, but a sanctuary. Nino Legashvili and Beka Phkakadze of company Stipfold, stepped in with their intuitive sense of space and human comfort. Their interior design breathed warmth into the wood and steel, shaping a hut that feels both grounded and ethereal. Every line, light, and surface was considered not only for resilience, but for rest, for beauty that speaks quietly, and comfort that lingers after the boots come off. Their touch is in the stillness of the evenings, the hush of the alpine dawn, and the way Altihut cradles every traveler like an old friend. It is through this design that the spirit of the mountains and the kindness of those who built it truly come to life.

The final stage of this epic endeavor was led by Altihut’s Georgian guardian angel Valeri Chabiridze and his fearless crew with an "orange minivan", who battled unpredictable weather and unforgiving terrain to complete the assembly at 3,014 meters above sea level.
With Stefan Müller  himself guiding the final installation, the mission seemingly impossible was accomplished. Altihut 3014 was born. A cozy, solar-powered sanctuary perched above the clouds. Built on Georgian grit, Swiss precision, international friendship, and the occasional chacha-fueled brainstorm. It stands as proof that when dreams climb high enough, and the right people rally behind them, even the wildly improbable becomes perfectly calculated magic.