Snowshoeing - Mont Blanc and the Western Alps

This book aims to show the keen hill-walker what snowshoeing can offer. A selection of 70 walks, hikes and treks in the region, all more or less within sight of Mont Blanc. There are sections on equipment, technique, hazards, preparation and nature, as well as 70 outings, ranging from very gentle to particularly strenuous.

It is essential that you have the appropriate map for the walk you are planning to do. The sketch maps in this guide are just to show the route, but do not in any way replace the full maps. Whether you choose the 1:25,000 or 1:50,000 is really a matter of personal preference. Where possible, references in the text are consistent with the maps produced in the country that the walk is located in. There will often be other maps available for the same area. For the 1:50,000 Swiss maps it is recommend that you get the ski versions if available – these have the same reference number but it is preceded by an S. These show the lines of ski tours which will often take the same route as snowshoe routes. This means that you are not distracted by the summer paths shown in red on the summer versions.

Some maps do change a lot when they are updated. The text tries to indicate where names have been changed, but this will not be definitive. Sometimes place names vary slightly in their spelling from one map to another – where this difference is important it is noted.

The new French 1:25,000 maps are GPS friendly – this means that they have grid lines and references on them. The Swiss maps also give this information, but the Italian ones – well, I’ll leave you to discover the joys of Italian maps! Suffice to say, they can be a little vague.

It should be noted that some mountain areas of Switzerland are used by the military for training. At these times the areas are closed to the public. Details of closures are posted on signs locally.