Trekking in the Alps. Kev Reynolds
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Alan Castle has trekked and travelled in over 50 countries within Europe, Asia, Australasia and North, Central and South America, and for 17 years led organised walking holidays in several European countries. A member of the Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild, he has written 18 walking guidebooks, several on long-distance mountain routes in France, and one on mountain biking, and has published articles for a number of magazines, particularly for Strider, the magazine of the Long Distance Walkers’ Association (LDWA). His longest solo walks include a Grand Traverse of the European Alps between Nice and Vienna (2430km), the E2 across Europe from Holland to the Mediterranean (2253km), the Pilgrim’s Trail from Le Puy via Santiago de Compostela to Finisterre (1545km) and a Coast to Coast across the French Pyrenees (870km). A mountain walker for over 40 years, he completed the Munros in 2000. Erstwhile National Secretary and Long Distance Information Officer of the LDWA, Alan founded the successful Hillwalkers Register for the LDWA in 1994, and the National Trail Walkers Register in 2009. A keen cyclist and one-time marathon runner, he lives among the hills of the Southern Uplands of Scotland.
Roy Clark and Justi Carey started visiting the British mountains in their teens, a discovery which has shaped their whole lives. Rock climbing and walking in North Wales and the Lake District eventually prompted a move to the Scottish Highlands, with its remoter hills and potential for winter climbing. Their passion for the outdoors has led to travels across the world, including Iceland, North America, Jordan and New Zealand, and their continuing interest in being ‘out there’ has resulted in an enthusiasm for downhill and cross-country skiing, canoeing, cycle-touring, as well as mountaineering. Since moving to Slovenia in 2002, Justi has worked as an English teacher while Roy has developed his skills in and passion for landscape photography, and their exploration of the local mountain environment has resulted in two Cicerone guidebooks, The Julian Alps of Slovenia and Trekking in Slovenia, with a further work in progress on the Karavanke Mountains, which form the natural border between Slovenia and Austria. See www.rivercottageslovenia.com.
Paddy Dillon is a prolific outdoor writer, with over 40 guidebooks to his name and contributions to 20 more. He is an indefatigable long-distance walker, who has walked all the National Trails in Britain, as well as several European trails, stretching from the sub-tropical Canary Islands and Mediterranean northwards beyond the Arctic Circle. Further afield he has walked in Nepal, Tibet and the Rocky Mountains of Canada and the United States. What he enjoys most in his travels is variety, climbing mountains and following coastlines, crossing semi-deserts and penetrating evergreen ‘cloud forests’, enjoying the simple pleasures of an easy nature trail as much as a challenging long-distance trail. Paddy aims for a quick turnaround with his guidebooks, partly to present the most up-to-date information to readers, but also because he is always eager to start the next project, wherever it might be. Next destination – everywhere! His website is: www.paddydillon.co.uk
Allan Hartley has been passionate about mountains and photography since his early teens. He has climbed extensively throughout the Alps, discovering Austria by chance in the early 1970s while trying to avoid atrocious weather conditions in the higher mountains of the Western Alps. He maintains that Austria and the Dolomites of neighbouring Italy remain among mountaineering’s best kept secrets, with their heady mix of super scenery and good huts with excellent food, and are better suited to the average mountaineer than the higher mountains to the west. In addition to Austria and the Alps, Allan has climbed from East Africa to the Falkland Islands, the Greater Ranges of Nepal and Pakistan, the lesser known Zagros mountains of Iran, and the Al Hajr mountains of the Arabian Peninsular. Not surprisingly, he is a long-term member of the Austrian Alpine Club, a member of the Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild, an Associate of the Royal Photographic Society and a holder of the International Mountain Leaders Award. His home is on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales. See www.allanhartley.co.uk
Gillian Price was born in England but moved to Australia when young. After taking a degree in anthropology and working in adult education, she set off to travel through Asia and trek in the Himalaya. The culmination of her journey was Venice where, her enthusiasm fired for mountains, the next logical step was towards the Dolomites, only hours away. Starting there, Gillian is steadily exploring the mountain ranges and flatter bits of Italy and bringing them to life for visitors in a series of outstanding guides for Cicerone. When not out walking and taking photos with Nicola, her Venetian cartographer husband, Gillian works as a freelance journalist and translator. An adamant promoter of public transport to minimise impact in Alpine areas, she is an active member of the CAI (the Italian Alpine Club) and the Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild. See www.gillianprice.eu
Hilary Sharp is British, a qualified Accompagnateur en Montagne (International Trekking Guide) based permanently in the village of Vallorcine, near Chamonix Mont Blanc in the French Alps where she runs her own trekking business, Trekking in the Alps, offering guided walks and hiker’s summits in winter (where she specialises in snowshoeing), and in spring and summer. Her love of walking and climbing has taken her to many parts of Europe and further afield. Hilary has been a contributor to several British walking magazines, and is the author of Trekking in the Western Alps (published by New Holland in 2002), and Snowshoeing: Mont Blanc and the Western Alps, Tour of Monte Rosa, Tour of the Matterhorn, and Mont Blanc Walks – all published by Cicerone Press. For Hilary’s guided summer hikes and winter snowshoeing in the Alps, Corsica, Dolomites and beyond, go to: Trekking in the Alps, [email protected], www.trekkinginthealps.com
TREKKING IN THE ALPS
edited by Kev Reynolds
Contributors
Alan Castle, Allan Hartley, Gillian Price,
Hilary Sharp, Kev Reynolds,
Paddy Dillon, Justi Carey and Roy Clark
JUNIPER HOUSE, MURLEY MOSS,
OXENHOLME ROAD, KENDAL, CUMBRIA LA9 7RL
© in the compilation: Kev Reynolds 2011
© in each chapter remains with the author 2011
© in the photographs remains with the photographer 2011
First edition 2011 Reprinted 2019 (with updates)
ISBN 9781849653794
KHL Printing, Singapore
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Photographs are by the authors of the chapters in which they appear, unless otherwise credited.
Maps © OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA ASTER GDEM is a product of METI and NASA Cartography by Lovell Johns www.lovelljohns.com
© FFRP 2011 for all GR®, PR® and GRP® paths appearing in this work.
Acknowledgements
Sincere thanks to Jonathan Williams at Cicerone with whom this book was planned at a time when financial institutions across the globe faced meltdown. Recalling joyful days in the Alps, and dreaming more for the future, gave perspective to the daily crises trumpeted from radio, TV and newspapers. How good it is to have a publisher