Walking in Austria - 100 Walks and Multi-day Treks

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

General Tourist Guides

Austria – the Rough Guide by Jonathan Bousfield and Rob Humphreys (Rough Guides, 1998) – One of the best general guides to the country available.

Baedeker’s Austria (AA; 2nd edition 1992) – A gazeteer-style guide with concise paragraphs of useful background information. 

Mountains and Mountaineering

Nanga Parbat Pilgrimage by Hermann Buhl (latest English edition, Bâton Wicks, 1998) – The autobiography of one of Austria’s finest climbers who made the first ascent of Nanga Parbat in 1953, but died in 1957 after falling through a cornice on Chogolisa. This book contains the account of many of his early climbs in the Eastern Alps.

Climbs and Ski-Runs by FS Smythe (Blackwood, 1929) – The first (and some say the best) book by the most prolific and widely-read mountaineer of the inter-war years.

Eastern Alps: the Classic Routes on the Highest Peaks by Dieter Seibert (Diadem, 1992) – As the title suggests, it includes routes for climbers in the Ötztal, Stubai, Zillertal and Hohe Tauern.

Over Tyrolese Hills by FS Smythe (Hodder & Stoughton, 1936) – Despite the title, this is an account of his climbs in many parts of Austria.

Glockner Region by Eric Roberts (West Col, 1976) – A climbers’ guide to Austria’s highest mountain and other neighbouring peaks. Some of the information is inevitably out of date, especially in regard to the size and condition of glaciers and snowfields, but still the only such guide in the English language.

Oetztaler Alps by Jeff Williams (West Col, 2000) – One of three climbers’ guides to Austrian mountains by Jeff Williams, it includes several summits that would be accessible to experienced mountain walkers with scrambling ability.

Silvretta Alps by Jeff Williams (West Col, 1995) – An excellent guide to these mountains for the peak-bagger.

Stubai Alps & South Tirol by Jeff Williams (West Col, 1991) – Another very fine climber’s guide with routes described on both sides of the international border.

Zillertal Alps by Eric Roberts and Robin Collomb (West Col, 1980) – All the major Zillertal peaks, plus numerous others, are given the West Col treatment in this climbers’ guide.

Mountain Walking

Walking in the Alps by J Hubert Walker (Oliver & Boyd, 1951) – In this classic of mountain literature, Walker describes the Ötztal and Stubai Alps for the walker and climber, in an inspirational manner. The book actually covers 12 Alpine districts, only two of which are in Austria.

Walking in the Alps by Kev Reynolds (Cicerone Press; 2nd edition, 2005) – Based on Walker’s book (see above), this 495 page all-colour volume covers 19 regions of the Alps, from the Alpes Maritimes to the Julians of Slovenia, and includes almost all of Austria’s mountains.

Walking in the Alps by Helen Fairbairn et al (Lonely Planet, 2004) – In recognisable Lonely Planet style, this book describes a handful of routes among Austria’s Alps.

Klettersteig: Scrambles in the Northern Limestone Alps by Paul Werner (Cicerone Press, 1987) – Translated from the German by Dieter Pevsner, this is a guide to more than 40 Via Ferrata protected routes in Austria and Bavaria.

Walking Austria’s Alps Hut to Hut by Jonathan Hurdle (The Mountaineers/Cordee, 2nd edition,1999) – A selection of multi-day hut-to-hut routes by a variety of authors.

Trekking in the Stubai Alps by Allan Hartley (Cicerone Press, 2003) – A guide to two excellent hut tours in the Stubai Alps.

Trekking in the Zillertal Alps by Allan Hartley (Cicerone Press, 2003) – By the same author as the Stubai guide (above), this book describes the 10–12 day hut tour of the Zillertal region.

Walking in the Salzkammergut by Fleur and Colin Speakman (Cicerone Press, 1989) – Mostly gentle walks in the ever-popular Salzburg ‘Lake District’ which edges the Dachsteingebirge.