Tim Akitt

Biography

I have spent the major part of my life in the North of England, working both in Industry and the University sector. In 1979 my wife and I bought an apartment at Bourg St Maurice for the skiing and soon found that the region around had considerable attraction for walking in summer. As it is just to the south of Mt Blanc, the big mountain has taken all the attention and the Tarentaise has been rather ignored by the Brits. There are many walks of good quality in beautiful places, well documented in the French guides but with often a lack of information on how to get to the start of the walks. We therefore investigated the area in depth and built up a mass of knowledge which I have been able to pass on in the form of the Tarentaise guide. It was a natural step to cross the frontier into Italy and follow the Via Alta, whence the Grand Paradiso guide. The whole of the Graian Alps is very beautiful and days spent in these hills are always highly rewarding, to come back to again and again, and indeed, we now live here permanently to enjoy the views and the marvellous flora.