Through the Italian Alps - A Walker's Guidebook

The Grande Traversata delle Alpi (The GTA) is a spectacular and immensely rewarding 47-day long-distance route across the western Italian Alps, traversing the Ligurian, Maritime, Cottian, Graian and Pennine Alps, and heading northwards to a brilliant conclusion near the base of Monte Rosa.

Through the Italian Alps

The GTA – The Grande Traversata delle Alpi

Author

Gillian Price

Cover

Paperback - PVC

Edition

First

ISBN_13

9781852844172

Availability

Published

Price

£12.00

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Front Cover (1)
Location Map (1)
Overview Maps (2)
Sample Routes (2)
Sample Photos (2)

Seasons

Late June to mid-September. There may be some spring snow early on, but the treks goes from south to north so this is minimised.

Centres

Starts Viozene north of Genoa, finishes near Monte Rosa. Visits no main towns but public transport to Turin then Aosta always possible to leave the route.

Difficulty

At 630km (400 miles) split into 47 stages it is a long way and passes through some tough but rewarding alpine terrain. Can be split for those with less time. A stern undertaking.

Must See

Argentera, Monte Viso, the Gran Paradiso and the south faces of the Pennine Alps. Crosses half a dozen national parks and nature reserves.

Those lucky enough to have access to a library holding antique publications should seek out Sketching Rambles or Nature in the Alps and Apennines by Agnes and Maria Catlow (2 vols, James, Hogg and Sons, London, 1861) and The Alps from End to End by William Martin Conway (Westminster 1895), which saw his group recurrently mistaken for French spies. Another classic is John Ball’s The Alpine Guide, vol I ‘The Western Alps’ (revised by W.A.B. Coolidge, Longmans, Green, and Co, 1898). Many inspiring articles describing the Piedmont Alps have appeared in The Alpine Journal, notably D.W. Freshfield’s ‘The Maritime Alps. The Seaward Valleys in Spring’ and ‘The Baths of Valdieri in Autumn’ (February 1880), and R.L.G. Irving’s ‘The Ligurian Alps in Spring’ (August 1911).

A moving account of World War II partisan activity in the valleys surrounding Cuneo is Giorgio Bocca’s 1945 Partigiani della montagna (Feltrinelli), food for thought.

Lovers of wildflowers can do no better than the beautiful artwork of Christopher Grey-Wilson and Marjorie Blamey in Alpine Flowers of Britain and Europe (HarperCollins, 1995). An equivalent for birdwatchers is Bruun, Delin and Svensson’s excellent Birds of Britain and Europe (Hamlyn, 1992).

For short and long-distance walks in the Gran Paradiso National Park in Valle d’Aosta: Walking in Italy’s Gran Paradiso by Gillian Price, Cicerone, 1997.