On 12 August 1907, the first Naturefriends House at “Padasterjoch” ridge in the Stubai Alps (Tyrol), situated at 2,300 metres above sea level, was officially opened. Although the construction work of the mountain hut had not been fully completed due to unfavourable weather conditions, this did in no way spoil the festive mood of the guests, who had arrived in three chartered trains. In the association’s newspaper, this day went down as “our great day”, as members were aware that the construction of their own mountain huts ended the dependancy on bougeois alpine associations.  

In total, Naturefriends built 24 mountain huts until the onset of World War I – most of them near cities and residential areas, as the majority of Naturefriends members had neither money nor time for extensive tours through the Alps. On their work-free Sundays, members actively participated in the construction of their mountain huts, as they did in the construction of hiking trails.