Wooden deck board SWISS ALPS, SWITZERLAND

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Hotel Wildstrubel sits high up on the Gemmi pass near Leukerbad in the Swiss Alps. Situated at 2350m above sea level and accessed by modern cable car, the hotel is a popular tourist destination for hiking and mountaineering during the summer and cross-country skiing in winter. Part of the attraction is its spacious Accoya deck that invites visitors to relax and enjoy the stunning mountain scenery in style and comfort. Accoya was not only chosen for its authentic wooden aesthetics but also for its impressive performance, as the mountain climate – while ideal for skiing – could pose a few challenges to the materials used for the deck. At that altitude, winters are long and bring a lot of snow and freezing temperatures, the stress of which can cause other materials to crack. The high footfall of tourists all year round also puts a lot of stress on the deck, especially with heavy ski and hiking boots. For Accoya, these challenges are no problem at all: due to the patented acetylation process, Accoya wood is so dimensionally stable that it barely shrinks, swells or warps at all, and is extremely durable in all weather conditions. It’s the best decking material for challenging environments. The project was designed by architects De Sepibus AG in Brig and the decking was installed by joinery Stephan Kiechler in Leukerbad.