Product Description

Walking is unquestionably the best method of exploring, and it is the mountain walker for whom journeys in the Alps reveal some of the finest views, the greatest contrasts. This book then 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 Turnitzer Alps of eastern Austria, from the ice-bound giants of the Bernese Oberland to the green rolling Kitzbuheler 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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #461939 in Books
• Published on: 2005-10-20
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 495 pages

From Library Journal
When most people think of the Alps, they think of Switzerland. The Alps actually stretch from Southern France to Austria, passing through several countries in between. The purpose of this book is to provide a compilation of walks available throughout this mountain chain. Reynolds, one of the foremost authorities on the region, has modeled the book after J. Hubert Walker's classic Walking the Alp, with the goal of creating a more updated version. Peppered with breathtaking photographs, the text is divided into manageable sections of the Alps, each section ending with useful information on which guidebooks to use and whether accommodations are available. However, crucial details about contacts, weather, money, and visas are not provided; it certainly would have been useful to offer at least an appendix with basic information on each country. Reynolds obviously didn't intend to write just another travel guide but rather a reference tome. This bulky book is recommended for purchase, though it should not be a hiker's sole resource.DSandy Knowles, Henderson Cty. P.L., NC
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
'The most comprehensive book about alpine walking in the last fifty years.'(Chris Bonington)'This is a book that needed writing, and who better to write it than that doyen of guidebook authors - Kev Reynolds. It is a hefty volume that makes no pretence of being a pocket or even a rucksack guidebook, it's a full scale Alpine bible weighing no less than two and a quarter pounds. It's a book for the long winter evenings, not to dream over but to conspire with, to plot with and to use.'(John Cleare, High)'According to my calculations, if I wanted to do everything listed in this marvellous book I would need to live to just over 400 years and remain fit to the end.'(Ernst Sondheimer, The Alpine Journal)'In his own poetic and inimitable style, [Kev Reynolds] has produced a book that condenses the vast wonderland that is the Alps, from the Mediterranean coast near Nice to the wooded hills of Vienna, into 480 pages of densely, yet eminently readable, information. ... This then, is probably the most important guide to walking abroad that has been published in Britain. It is simply stunning, and should be on the shelves of every walker, scrambler and backpacker who harbours any inclination to travel south to these, one of the finest ranges of mountains in the world.'(Cameron McNeish, TGO)'Illustrated with excellent colour photographs and sketch maps, it's definitely a book for the enthusiast.'(Walking Abroad)'Kev Reynolds' style of writing combines graphic visual descriptions with a real feeling of his love for the mountains - there is nothing dry or understated in his prose. The second feature which I found most attractive, is [the] use of quotations from earlier writers, such as Tuckett, Freshfield, Whymper, Leslie Stephen and many others. He goes further and provides reading lists at the end of each chapter and this, for me, adds perspective and a sense of the inheritance of a wonderful recreation from those who have trodden these incomparable mountains in the past.'(Ewen Moir, Austrian Alpine Club Newsletter)'Perhaps you are thinking of your first walking trip to the Alps; but where? How do you decide? Well you can't do better than start with this comprehensive guide to the whole Alpine chain. It is a soft cover update of the original 1998 hardback, which was recognised immediately as the most complete description of the Alps and the walking it offered.Kev Reynolds is a long established writer in the field with a string of guides to individual areas. It is hard to think of anyone to better his extensive knowledge of the Alpine world and clear writing style. I think even old Alpine buffs will discover a corner they were unaware of.'(Scottish Mountaineer Magazine / August 2006)'A big book in every sense, Reynolds' classic was originally published in 1998 and has been republished in soft cover, with improved mapping and a lot more colour photographs. Its format is simple but highly effective.There is little route description - books that offer that are referred to at the end of each chapter - but there is much loving details of what makes each sub-range and its region unique. The suggested tours are well-thought out, with plenty of scope for personal variations.'(Walking World Ireland / July - August 2007)

About the Author
A lifelong passion for the countryside in general, and mountains in particular, drives Kev's desire to share his sense of wonder and delight in the natural world through his writing, guiding, photography and lecturing. Spending several months each year among various high mountain regions researching guidebooks, makes him The Man with the World's Best Job; a title he aims to keep by remaining active for another 100 years at least. Kev has enjoyed a fruitful partnership with Cicerone since the 1970s, producing walking and trekking guides to the Pyrenees, Alps and Himalaya, as well as walking guides for Kent, Sussex and the Cotswolds and he has several more books in the pipeline. A frequent contributor to outdoor magazines, he also writes and illustrates brochures for national tourist authorities and travel companies. When not away in the mountains, Kev lives with his wife in a small cottage among what he calls 'the Kentish Alps' with unrestricted walking country on the doorstep. But he also travels throughout Britain during the winter months to share his love of the places he writes about through a series of lectures. Check him out on www.kevreynolds.co.uk

Customer Reviews

Useful in only a very specific way
This book has a wealth of information on specific trails and specific mountains. It is incredibly detailed, but it lacks any overview. It provides no help on how to choose a trail or select where to go. Nor does it cover what sorts of things you will need on your trip or how to plan it. So unless you know exactly where you want to go hiking and need some specific information on trails in that area, this book is not too helpful.

A Reference for the Experienced Walker
] The mere words "walking in the alps" conjure images of snowcapped mountains, lakes nestled in valleys, breathtaking scenery and fill the heart with longing to be there. This volume does not transport the reader - it is not an "armchair travel" experience". But it does provide massive amounts of information to the traveler planning a trip.

Planning is the key word. The paperback volume is too bulky (480 pages) to pack to take with you or to comfortably carry, although if you don't mind destroying your book (paperbound), you could easily tear out the sections appropriate for your travel plans.

Coverage is exhaustive in terms of area: from the Alpes Maritime in France to the wooded hills of Vienna, with Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Austria in between.

This book is not for the general tourist or casual walker, but is geared toward a specific audience. The introduction says that "the mountain walker the individual with good general fitness, a modicum of scrambling experience and an eye for the hills, can move far enough and at the right paced ... is the person for whom this book is written."

Since it is written for such a specific audience, I was surprised at some of the omissions. The maps are excellent. Attempts have been made to define the topography of each area. But precise route descriptions are not supplied.

In summary, this is a good, but not stand alone, reference for the serious walker to use in planning a trip.

mine better book of the Alps
When buying this book, a person feels will to walk in the Alps. When reading it this will fast becomes in life objective! I really disagree with the affirmation that this book does not serve to choose what to make in the Alps. I covered 3 passages indicated for this great man (Kev Reynolds) in the zone of the Graian Alps, in France, and any one of the passages corresponded to the one that assumes to be. Absolutely incredible! It is a book to read in house even because the bookbinding is, no doubt, the weak part of this magnificent book. The indications concerning the maps to buy and of the difficulty of the hikes are correct.