Alpine Club membership: is it worth it, and which club? A guide for Israelis

The Alpine Clubs of Germany, Austria, France, Spain, Italy and Switzerland, together with those of South Tyrol, Slovenia and others, have a reciprocity agreement (Gegenrecht). A member of any of them pays, in every one of their huts, the overnight tariff of the owning club's members, in about 1,200 huts.

The agreement guarantees the overnight price, not necessarily the meals, though the Italian club extends its 20% half-board discount to members of other clubs. To get it you show a valid membership card with the year and the GEGENRECHT–RÉCIPROCITÉ logo; without it you pay as a non-member. There is no point buying a second club's card.

In German and Austrian huts non-members pay at least 12 euros more per night. At the Austrian club's 75-euro fee, membership pays for itself after about 6–7 nights, which is a week's trek.

In Italy the discount is smaller but still real: at Rifugio Galassi in the Dolomites, for example, half board is 69 euros or 55 for members, a saving of 14 euros a night.

The club states outright that "people of all nations can become members", and that a flat charge may be added for non-residents. The basic fee: 75 euros in 2026 and 79 in 2027, 58 euros for partners, juniors aged 19–27 and seniors, and 29 for children. Sections with a full-time office charge a little more.

At the Edelweiss section in Vienna membership costs 88 euros, plus 15 euros for members living outside Austria; its join form is in German only. Membership includes insurance: for non-residents it covers rescue at home and abroad, and medical treatment and repatriation for the first eight weeks of each trip.

In the German club (DAV) fees are set by section: 121 euros for an adult at the Munich section in 2026, with 10% off for joining after 1 March, 30% after 1 June and 50% after 1 September. The club says membership is open to anyone interested in mountain sports but does not address foreign residence, so ask the section.

In the Swiss club (SAC) membership costs 80–110 francs depending on the section; members abroad are accepted, invoices are in francs only, and adults are not automatically insured. In the Italian club (CAI) you join through a local section, usually in person, for about 45–62 euros.

The Israel Climbers' Club is listed as a full member of the international climbing and mountaineering federation (UIAA) since 2009. The UIAA has an arrangement under which members of federations outside the reciprocity agreement can buy an annual hut stamp, which cost 50 euros in a 2022 notice. Whether the Israeli club sells it today we could not confirm, so ask them directly.