At the suggestion of Heinrich Hess, the "ÖAV Admont-Ennsthal" was founded in 1886 as a subgroup of the Austrian Alpine Club. The section became independent in 1892 and has been the oldest local alpine club in the Gesäuse ever since.
The working area includes the central Haller Mauern, the areas of the Reichenstein group facing the Enns Valley and, with the Großer Ödstein, also part of the Hochtor massif. A total of 90 km of routes are maintained in these areas, including the via ferratas on the Hexenturm and Grabnerstein as well as the sport climbing area in the front Johnsbach valley. Three years after the association was founded, the Admonterhaus lodge was built in 1895. In 1940, the Gesäuse Mountain Sports Association built the Klinkehütte lodge, which has been run by the Admont-Gesäuse section since 1959.