The Austrian Alpine Association is facing significant challenges due to the so-called climate crisis and increased extreme weather events such as heavy rain and storms. These events cause massive damage to hiking trails and mountain huts, which significantly increases maintenance costs. The organization is demanding a financial rescue package of 95 million euros from the federal government to maintain the alpine infrastructure. A decline in volunteers is making the situation even more difficult. To counteract the trend of declining long-term commitments, the Alpine Association is relying on "microvolunteering," in which interested parties can take on short-term assignments on the trails. In the summer of 2024, the huts recorded fewer day visitors, while the number of overnight stays remained stable. "The severe weather events in September have caused immense damage to alpine hiking trails and huts across Austria and once again give a bitter foretaste of what we will have to prepare for in the mountains in the coming years," said Wolfgang Schnabl, President of the Alpine Association. This extreme weather has made the already complex maintenance work even more difficult, so that the costs of maintaining the huts and paths have risen dramatically over the last ten years. Many mountain huts have already ended the season, with the number of day visitors falling compared to last year. "Due to the unstable weather at the start of the season, the huts had fewer guests in the first few weeks," says Georg Unterberger, head of the Alpine Association's Huts and Paths Department. The challenge of maintaining the alpine infrastructure in the face of climate change requires urgent action. In order to support the voluntary work, flexible deployment options are needed to counteract the declining number of volunteers.