The Alpine Pass Route, Switzerland, Europe - A Trekker's Guide

• Location
• Description
• Contents
• Introduction
• Sample Route
• Maps
• Updates
• Reviews
• Further Reading

1: General Tourist Guides:

Of the many general guides available, perhaps the best and most readable is:
The Rough Guide to Switzerland by Matthew Teller (Rough Guides Ltd, 2nd edition 2003)

Also useful are:
The Outdoor Traveler’s Guide: The Alps by Marcia R Lieberman (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, New York, 1991) with superb colour photography by Tim Thompson

Switzerland by Mark Honan (Lonely Planet)

Blue Guide Switzerland by Ian Robertson (A&C Black, 1987/89 – 4th edition)

The Green Guide Switzerland (Michelin Travel Publications, 2000)

Long out of print but available on special request from public libraries (may also be obtailable via internet booksearch sites), the following general guide contains several references to mountain areas away from roads and tourist haunts, and provides interesting background information, despite being written decades before the Alpine Pass Route came into being:-

The Alps by R.L.G.Irving (Batsford, 1939)

2: Mountains & Mountaineering:

Numerous volumes dedicated to mountaineering in the Alps contain items of interest to walkers tackling the APR. The following list is merely a small selection.

Wandering Among the High Alps by Alfred Wills (Blackwell, latest edition 1939) Wills’ account of his ascent of the Wetterhorn marked the start of the Golden Age of Mountaineering.

The Playground of Europe by Leslie Stephen (Longmans, 1871 – most recent edition by Blackwell, 1936) Victorian adventures, including the ascent of the Jungfrau. Playground is considered to be one of the finest in mountaineering literature.

The White Spider by Heinrich Harrer (latest edition, Granada, 1983) A history of the North Face of the Eiger by one who made its first ascent in 1938.

The Eiger by Dougal Haston (Cassell, 1974) Another Eiger history, including modern routes up to the time of publication, by one of the team which made the first direct ascent of the North Face in winter.

The Mountains of Switzerland by Herbert Maeder (George Allen & Unwin, 1968) A large format book with splendid monochrome illustrations, it includes several mountain areas traversed by the APR.

3: Mountain Walking:

Backpacking in the Alps & Pyrenees by Showell Styles (Victor Gollancz, 1976) Includes an account of a backpacking journey from Montreux to Meiringen, largely on trails used by the APR.

Walking in Switzerland by Clem Lindenmayer (Lonely Planet, 2nd edition 2001) This includes a disjointed account of the APR, but all stages are included.

Central Switzerland – A Walker’s Guide by Kev Reynolds (Cicerone Press, 1993) A guidebook for walkers which describes several areas traversed by the APR. Could be useful for explorations during ‘days off’ from the trek.

The Bernese Alps by Kev Reynolds (Cicerone Press, 2nd edition 1997/2001) Similar coverage to the Central Alps guide, but covers all the valleys crossed by the APR in canton Bern.

Walking in the Alps by Kev Reynolds (Cicerone Press, 1998) All alpine areas included, from the Alpes Maritime to the Julians of Slovenia in 19 chapters. Plenty of coverage of country visited by the APR.