From world-record ski mountaineer to hut keeper: Jakob Herrmann's "Minimal:isst"
Jakob Herrmann was Austria's most successful ski mountaineer. Today he cooks on a wood stove in his small ski hut next to the Anton-Proksch-Haus, keeping the food simple, affordable and healthy.
The little ski hut stands right next to the Naturfreunde's Anton-Proksch-Haus, at about 1,590 metres in the Werfenweng ski area. It is called "Minimal:isst", a pun on "minimalist" and the German for "eats", and the name says it all. It is run by Jakob Herrmann from Werfenweng, described by SalzburgerLand Magazin as Austria's most successful ski mountaineer.
A career full of records
Herrmann was known as a specialist in technically difficult individual races. He holds the course record at the gruelling Mountain Attack race in Saalbach. In January 2024 he set a world record on the Königslehen lift in Radstadt, climbing 24,242 metres in 24 hours and beating the previous record held by his friend Kilian Jornet.
Cooking on a wood stove
Early each morning, Herrmann skis up to the hut and prepares the food on a simple wood stove. What matters to him is that the dishes are affordable and healthy. Many guests are ski tourers or paragliders. He has noticed more and more visitors looking for meat-free and vegan dishes, and he has them on the menu.
Nutrition has long been his thing. He went to hotel management school, studied nutritional science before his sports career and trained as a teacher, then taught maths and home economics at a secondary school in the Tennengau district.
How to get there
- In winter: take the Ikarus gondola to the top station and ski down from there, or go up on a ski tour (paid ticket) or on snowshoes.
- In summer: walk via the Freilassinger Hütte and the Strussing Alm (marked trail no. 52), which takes about two hours.