The second edition of this classic guidebook by Kev Reynolds on walking and trekking in the Alps. This book is a definitive guide to the many thousands of possible routes, with a geographical span that ranges from the Maritime Alps of southern France to the Julians of Slovenia, from Italy's Gran Paradiso to the little-known Türnitzer Alps of eastern Austria, and from the ice-bound giants of the Bernese Oberland to the green rolling Kitzbüheler Alps and the bizarre towers of the Dolomites of South Tirol, showing the amazing diversity of this wonderful mountain chain. There are walks to suit every taste: gentle and undemanding, long and tough, and everything in between. Written by Britain's most respected authority on the Alps, this is a fully updated edition of this important book.
This popular guidebook by expert Kev Reynolds describes 100 day walks focusing on the mountain huts of the Alps. With walks in France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria and Slovenia, there are routes to suit every taste – from gentle and undemanding to long and tough, as well as all varieties of difficulty in between.
What they have in common is a visit to a hut, each with its own character. Some walks are perfect for lunch at a hut before a return to the valley base, others involve an overnight stay at a hut. In a few cases, a short hut-to-hut tour is suggested.
The routes are grouped by country and by specific Alpine district. Most of the routes avoid any climbing of a technical nature, beyond the odd scramble aided by a fixed rope. Notes on hut etiquette, what to take and an English-French-German-Italian glossary are also included to help trekkers get the most out of their time in the Alps.
This comprehensive book is an excellent planning resource for those who wish to venture into the Swiss Alps. Whether you are planning a walk, scramble, climb or ski tour this larger format guide describes each mountain area throughout Switzerland – the peaks, passes, valleys and bases – to help readers identify the best destinations for their chosen mountain activity.
Dozens of individual valleys are described, together with the mountains that wall them, with recommendations given for their finest walks, treks and climbs. Working eastwards across the country, this guide is divided into seven chapters: Chablais Alps, Pennine Alp, Lepontine and Adula Alps, Bernina, Bregaglia and Albula Alps, Bernese Alps, Central Swiss Alps and the Silvretta and Ratikon Alps, each devoted to a specific range or group of connecting ranges.
However, this is not a route guide and detailed descriptions are not provided. The aim of the book is to inspire as well as inform; to show first-time visitors just what the Swiss Alps have to offer and provide a new perspective for those who have been before.
This guidebook describes 70 mountain walking routes in the Écrins National Park in south east France. Easily reached from Grenoble, the Massif des Écrins is one of the most spectacular regions in all the Alps. Most of the area is a national park, containing bold mountains hung with glaciers, and more than 100 summits over 3000m high. The park offers a profusion of alpine flowers, and romantic old villages and hamlets huddle in the valleys. This is mountain country par excellence, but hundreds of kilometres of well-marked trails and a network of alpine huts make it accessible to walkers. The highest peaks form a block at the very heart of the range, with a diverse assortment of valleys surrounding or spreading from it – Vallée de la Romanche, Vallée de la Guisane, Vallée de la Vallouise, Valgaudemar, Valjouffrey and Vallée du Vénéon. For this second edition of the guide, Kev Reynolds has chosen the best routes from each of these valley bases. This guide describes 70 full- and half-day walks in France's largest national park, suitable for all experienced walkers, from alpine novices to experts, with useful information on refuge accommodation and all other aspects of walking in the region.
Alpine expert Kev Reynolds has spent fifty years exploring mountain landscapes and thirty writing about his experiences. Here he shares some of the high points of a full life as a wanderer and writer. Kev is the leading international authority on many mountain ranges, including the Pyrenees, many regions of the Alps and the Nepal Himalaya. As the author of numerous guides he has inspired many thousands of trekkers to follow in his footsteps. As a lecturer he regularly evokes the mood and majesty of the mountains to spellbound audiences. In this book Kev tells how he set off, aged 21, to explore the Atlas Mountains of Morocco – and never looked back. He abandoned his desk-bound local government job to pursue a life in the mountains, living and working in Britain, Austria and Switzerland before finding his true metier as a writer. These 75 stories capture the joy he has take in exploring the Atlas Mountains, Pyrenees, Alps, Himalaya and 'Other Wild Places' again and again, meeting the local people and the mountain guides, experiencing the local food, faiths and lifestyle and watching the sun rise and set against some of the world's highest peaks from summit bivvies.
The Pennine Alps in the Valais region of Switzerland contain more 4000m peaks than anywhere else in Western Europe and some of the greats: the Matterhorn, Monte Rosa, Dent Blanche and Grand Combin, all surrounded by idyllic valleys and hillsides dotted with chalets, hay barns and hardy little alpine flowers as well as pristine snowfields and glaciers. This guide describes 111 day walks and 10 multi-day, long-distance treks, exploring this whole area and suitable for a wide range of abilities. The network of walking trails in this popular region is excellent but the infrastructure is unbeatable, with excellent public transport and a wide range of good-quality accommodation from simple mountain huts to grand hotels in bases such as Saas Fee, Zermatt and Arolla. Walks are arranged valley by valley and accompanied by full information about the valley bases, mountain huts, access and facilities as well as practical information for walkers new to trekking or walking in Switzerland.
On eight treks in Nepal's Himalaya; to Kanchenjunga, Manaslu, Annapurna, Everest, Langtang, Dolpo, Api and Mugu, the true spirit of trekking is captured in Kev Reynolds' reverence, curiosity and ongoing love of the world's greatest mountain range. The Himalaya are no ordinary mountains. Stretching through five countries and dwarfing all others, they have captured the imaginations of travellers and mountain lovers for centuries. While some seek to reach their snowy heights, many more step out onto winding and climbing trails to trek through the heart of the mountains, and live – if only for a little while – the life of an adventurer. The first time a trail is explored offers unknown beauty and fresh experience around every turn. This is Kev Reynolds' collection of eight such discoveries along popular trails and into lands previously locked away. Brought to life in vivid style, Reynolds evokes the scent of fragrant rhododendron jungles and travelling past terraced fields, hillside villages and ancient temples. Then exploring into hidden valleys beyond the reach of civilization, and on to towering, ice-locked peaks that scratch the sky. All proceeds from sales of this book will be donated to the Nepal Earthquake Appeal.
Over 100 walking routes in the Bernese Oberland are described in this guidebook, suitable for all abilities from short flat walks to adventurous treks. Routes range from 2 to 24km in a region that boasts famous peaks such as the Eiger, Monch and the Jungfrau. But there are lesser-known mountains, too, that are just as scenically dramatic. Add to that the romantic valleys, lakes, flower-filled meadows and a network of mountain huts and rustic inns and you'll understand why the Bernese Alps seduce the hiker back year after year.
The guide is divided into nine chapters: Haslital, Lutschental, Lauterbrunnental, Kiental, Kandertal, Engstligental, Ober Simmental, Lauenental and Saanental, with a regional focus around Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen, Gsteig and Meiringen, Kandersteg, Griesalp and others. The layout of this guide follows an east-west convention, beginning with the Haslital and working west from valley to valley as far as Col du Pillon below Les Diablerets. Additionally, the guidebook includes useful practical information on getting to and around the region, where to stay and how to prepare for a trip into the Bernese Alps.