Walks In The Valais – Switzerland

The 120 routes in this guidebook take walkers through the Swiss Valais in the Pennine Alps, with such peaks as the Matterhorn, Dent Blanche and Monte Rosa providing a perfect background. Detailed coverage of Bettmeralp, Lötschental, Saastal, Mattertal, Turtmanntal, Val d’Annivers, Val d’Hérens, Val de Nendaz, Val de Bagnes, Val d’Entremont, Val ferret, Vallée de Trient.

General Tourist Guides
The Alps by R.L.G. Irving (Batsford, London 1939) – Long out of print, but available on special order from public libraries or via internet book-search sites, this volume by a noted Alpine connoisseur contains lengthy passages of interest to visitors to the Valais.

Blue Guide: Switzerland by Ian Robertson (A. & C. Black, London/W.W. Norton, New York) – regularly updated, and with near-comprehensive coverage.

The Rough Guide to Switzerland by Matthew Teller (Rough Guides Ltd) – Perhaps the best general guide to the country available at present.

The Green Guide: Switzerland (Michelin) – Presented in gazetteer form with a wide range of illustrations, but inaccuracies abound.

Mountains and Mountaineering
Alps 4000 by Martin Moran (David & Charles, Devon 1994) – The account of Moran’s and Simon Jenkins’s epic journey across all the 4000m summits of the Alps in one summer of activity.

Scrambles Amongst the Alps by Edward Whymper (John Murray, London – many editions) – ‘Scrambles’ is the classic volume of mountaineering literature, covering Whymper’s Alpine campaigns between 1860 and 1865 including, of course, the account of his fateful first ascent of the Matterhorn, but much else besides related to the Valais.

The Alps in 1864 by A.W. Moore (latest edition in 2 vols, Blackwell, London 1939) – Moore was with Whymper and Horace Walker during the summer of 1864, during which they were active on mountains that feature throughout this guide.

Wanderings Among the High Alps by Alfred Wills (Blackwell, London – latest edition 1939) – Another record of Victorian adventures with guides on peaks and passes above Zermatt, Saas Fee, etc.

The High Mountains of the Alps by Helmut Dumler & Willi Burkhardt (Diadem, London/The Mountaineers, Seattle 1993) – A beautifully produced volume, packed with excellent colour photographs and with an intelligent text, depicting all the Alpine 4000m peaks, many of which are in the Valais. Highly recommended.

Men and the Matterhorn by Gaston Rebuffet (Kaye & Ward, London 1973/OUP, New York 1967) – A well-illustrated volume dedicated to the most famous mountain in Europe.

The Mountains of Switzerland by Herbert Maeder (George Allen & Unwin, London 1968) – Large-format book with splendid monochrome illustrations.

The Outdoor Traveler’s Guide: The Alps by Marcia R. Lieberman (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, New York 1991) – With numerous fine colour illustrations by Tim Thompson, this book has a section devoted to the Valaisian Alps.

The Mountains of Europe by Kev Reynolds (Oxford Illustrated Press, Sparkford 1990) – All the major mountain areas of continental Europe described, including the Pennine Alps of the Valais.

Valais West by Lindsay Griffin and Valais East by Les Swindin and Peter Fleming (Alpine Club, London) – Guidebooks for climbers; authoritative as one would expect of AC publications.

Walking
Walking in the Alps by J. Hubert Walker (Oliver & Boyd, Edinburgh and London 1951) – Long out of print, but available on special order from some libraries, this is probably the best and most readable volume of inspiration to mountain walkers. A large section is dedicated to the Pennine Alps of canton Valais, although some of the information is no longer applicable, as a number of valleys have been irrevocably changed by hydro-schemes and downhill ski development.

Walking in the Alps by Kev Reynolds (Cicerone Press, Milnthorpe 1998) – Based on Walker’s classic volume (see above), this 480-page hardback describes 19 regions of the Alps, from the Alpes Maritimes to the Julians of Slovenia, and includes, of course, the Valais from a walker’s perspective.

Backpacking in the Alps and Pyrenees by Showell Styles (Gollancz, London 1976) – Contains an account of a backpacking journey across part of the Walker’s Haute Route.

Classic Walks in the Alps by Kev Reynolds (Oxford Illustrated Press, Sparkford 1991) – A large-format book with several routes from the Valais selected.

Trekking and Climbing in the Western Alps by Hilary Sharp (New Holland, London 2002) – One of a series of well-illustrated books dedicated to activity in the major ranges, Hilary Sharp’s authoritative text makes this both useful and readable. Among others, it includes an account of both the Walker’s Haute Route and the glacier route between Chamonix and Zermatt.

Walking in Switzerland by Clem Lindenmayer (Lonely Planet, London, Melbourne etc, 2nd edition 2001) – A typically fat Lonely Planet book, strong on background but less useful when it comes to walks, for by trying to cover most of the country the routes are rather thinly spread. Useful for pre-holiday research.

Walking Switzerland the Swiss Way by Marcia and Philip Lieberman (Cordee, Leicester/The Mountaineers, Seattle 1987) – A selection of walks in various regions of Switzerland, including the Valais.

Chamonix to Zermatt: the Walker’s Haute Route by Kev Reynolds (Cicerone Press, Milnthorpe, 3rd edition 2001) – Stage-by-stage route guide to this classic long trek, with variations and accommodation details.

Tour of Mont Blanc by Kev Reynolds (Cicerone Press, Milnthorpe 2002) – Included here as the TMB passes through two valleys of the Valais. Route descriptions are given for both the clockwise and anti-clockwise routes; accommodation details and full colour photographs throughout.

The Grand Tour of Monte Rosa by C.J. Wright (Cicerone Press, Milnthorpe 1995) – A two-volume guide to this epic circuit. Volume 1 details the route from Martigny to Valle delle Sesia via the Italian valleys. Volume 2 describes the GTMR from Alagna Valsesia to Martigny across the Valais.

100 Hut Walks in the Alps by Kev Reynolds (Cicerone Press, Milnthorpe 2000) – As the title suggests, a large selection of mountain huts across the Alpine ranges, several of which are located within the Valais.

Valais (Rother, Munich) – Walking guides in two volumes (East and West). Some of the accuracy seems to have been lost (in translation from the German?), but the books are useful in providing route ideas for readers to work out for themselves.