So whether you have a week to spare, a two-week holiday to fill, or a whole summer free to wander, this book describes some of the very best treks in Europe’s premier mountain range. But newcomers beware: trekking is addictive.
ABOUT THIS BOOK
The 20 treks described are listed in a clockwise arc, starting at the southwestern end of the Alpine chain where the GTA (Grande Traversata delle Alpi) begins in the Ligurian Alps just 40km from the Mediterranean, and working north and northeast to end with a traverse of the beautiful Julian Alps of Slovenia.
Rifugio Cinque Torri dwarfed by a rock tower (Dolomites Alta Via 1) (photo: Gillian Price)
Cabane d’Ar Pitetta, not far from the ‘hovel’ in which Whymper spent a night in 1864 (photo: Kev Reynolds)
All the well-known classics are included, such as the Tour of Mont Blanc, the Walker’s Haute Route from Chamonix to Zermatt, and the terrific Stubai High-Level Route in Austria. But you will find a number of little-known treks too; treks like the Tour of Mont Ruan, Tour of the Queyras and Tour of the Vanoise. Apart from the GTA already mentioned, Italy is well represented, with routes in the Gran Paradiso and two in the bewitching Dolomites, and Gillian Price also offers a description of the 495km European route, the E5 across the Eastern Alps from Lake Constance on the German–Austrian–Swiss border to Verona in Italy. If it’s ultra-long treks that appeal, Paddy Dillon entices with the GR5 from Lac Léman to Nice (725km), while at the other end of the scale we have a six-day tour of the Rätikon mountains, straying from Switzerland into Austria and back again.
The Tours of the Matterhorn and of Monte Rosa are also cross-border treks that give cultural as well as scenic variety, while Allan Hartley concentrates on Austrian treks, including the Zillertal circuit. Switzerland is crossed from east to west by the Alpine Pass Route, the famous Bernese Oberland is explored on the Tour of the Jungfrau Region, and in addition to several other great treks, France rewards in the Écrins with the challenging Tour of the Oisans.
While this book is intended to be an introduction to some of the most exciting and rewarding of multi-day treks, it would be impractical to include precise route descriptions for each one. Details of available guidebooks, along with a summary of basic route information, map and profile, are given alongside a broad overview of the trek intended to whet your appetite. These guidebooks provide travel details, map information, the location of huts and their facilities and, of course, all the in-depth route descriptions necessary to make your trek a success.
HUT CONVENTIONS
To book a place in a mountain hut, telephone in advance. Numbers are usually listed in the individual guidebooks; otherwise check with the nearest tourist office. Hut wardens will often telephone ahead for you.
On arrival leave your boots and trekking poles in the boot room or porch, and select a pair of hut shoes or clogs usually provided for indoor wear.
Locate the warden to announce your arrival, and book whatever meals are required.
Once a room has been allocated, make your bed using a sheet sleeping bag (sleeping bag liner) carried for the occasion. Have a torch handy, as the room may not be lit when you need to go there after dark.
Snacks and drinks are usually available during the day, but meals are served at set times. Food for lunch is often available to carry away.
It is customary to pay for all services (in cash only) the night before departure. Note that reductions (up to 50%) on overnight fees are given to members of other European Alpine Clubs, and to BMC members who have purchased a reciprocal rights card (www.thebmc.co.uk). Consider joining the UK branch of the Austrian Alpine Club (www.aacuk.org.uk) before making a hut-to-hut tour; as well as discounted overnight fees, membership benefits include free mountain rescue insurance.
ADVICE FOR TREKKERS
As this book clearly illustrates, the European Alps are not the sole preserve of the experienced mountain climber. Those who regularly walk the trails and sometimes pathless terrain of the English Lake District or Scottish Highlands should find that trekking in the Alps is well within their capabilities. But should you be nervous about making your first trek, consider booking with an adventure travel company, a number of whom advertise group holidays along some of the routes described here. Several of the authors who have contributed chapters to this book have guided treks in the past, and one of them, Hilary Sharp, has her own company with the same name as this book, based in Provence (www.trekkinginthealps.com).
Old-style hut accommodation
Dormitory in a traditional mountain hut, where duvets have replaced heavy blankets
Hut shoes – photos don’t impart the odour!
Breakfast in a remote gasthof (Photos 1 and 3: Hilary Sharp; photos 2 and 4: Kev Reynolds)
Gran Paradiso Alta Via 2 has clear, distinct waymarking (photo: Gillian Price)
Encouraging signs at a trail junction near Obersteinberg (Trek 11) (photo: Kev Reynolds)
Waymarks painted on rocks, trees and the sides of buildings ensure you stay on route (photo: Kev Reynolds)
Trekking implies walking day after day, so you need to be fit from the outset. Don’t wait until you arrive in the Alps before you think about it – take regular exercise to prepare for those times when the trail climbs remorselessly for hundreds of metres to gain a distant pass. Although technical mountaineering skills are not required to achieve any of these routes (apart from glacier crossing on two of the treks), almost all routes will have stages where the trail is narrow or exposed, or perhaps safeguarded with a length of cable or chain; in some places a section of steel ladder or a few metal rungs may have been bolted to a rockface as an aid. Great care should be exercised when using these – it certainly helps if you have a ‘head for heights’.
The vast majority of trails are clearly defined, well maintained and signed at major junctions. Waymarks are usually adequate on most routes, with lines of cairns directing the way where the terrain is such that no footpath could be made. But you should always remain alert, for even the most undemanding of paths can become hazardous when transformed by rain, snowmelt or a glaze of ice, and every trek will at some time cross rough and remote country where even a minor accident could have serious consequences.
Before setting out each morning, study the guidebook’s description of that day’s trek and make a mental note of any potential hazards, changes of direction or landmarks that need to be watched for. Keep the map handy and make sure you can identify your correct position at any time; should visibility become impaired by mist, your chance of becoming lost is greatly reduced. Unless the weather is threatening, or you’re running short of time, allow yourself a few minutes every hour or so to sit on a rock and contemplate the peace and natural beauty that are among the souvenirs you will take home with