Mountain huts are unlike any other place to spend a night. Perched on ridges, tucked into glacier cirques and hidden in remote valleys, they make accessible the kind of terrain most walkers and trekkers could never reach in a single day, and they are places where the sociable spirit of the mountains is felt most strongly.

This book is a celebration of the mountain hut experience, from the history and evolution of alpine refuges to the practicalities of using them, the people who run them and the routes that connect them. Entertaining, informative and richly illustrated, it is a book for anyone who wants to understand the mountain hut better, or for those yet to experience them for the first time.

• The book opens with an exploration of hut life in all its variety, covering huts for walkers, trekkers, climbers and wildlife watchers, alongside the practicalities of sleeping, eating, hut etiquette and what to expect from a hut guardian
• Ten of the author's favourite alpine huts are profiled in detail, among them the Cabane d'Arpitettaz, Refuge de Bellachat, Rifugio Bolzano, Cabane des Dix, Grutten Hut and Totalp Hut, with descriptions that bring them vividly to life
• Ten hut-to-hut routes of 3 to 13 days are described, including the Tour du Mont Blanc, Tour of the Vanoise, Rätikon Höhenweg, Stubai High Level Route, Alta Via 2, Tour of the Jungfrau Region and Tour of the Wilder Kaiser
• A history of mountain huts traces their development from the most primitive of shelters to the purpose-built, eco-friendly buildings of today, covering the role of alpine clubs and the challenges of managing huts in a changing climate
• A final chapter looks beyond the Alps to huts, bothies and lodges in the Pyrenees, Himalaya, Andes, Corsica, Picos de Europa, Canadian Rockies, Atlas Mountains, Appalachians, Caucasus, and Tatras

For anyone drawn to the mountains and the remarkable buildings that make them more accessible, this is an essential and thoroughly enjoyable read from one of the world's greatest authorities on mountain and Alpine trekking, Kev Reynolds. 

Author Highlight

"Over several decades of activity I’ve visited or stayed in hundreds of mountain huts (otherwise known as a cabane, capanna or chamanna, dom and koča, Hütte, refuge or rifugio), not just in the Alps, but also in the Pyrenees, Morocco, Russia and the high Himalaya, where they are known by other names, and I’ve come to appreciate the sheer variety and sometimes quirky nature of such dwellings lodged in a remote corner of the mountains far from the familiar everyday world. 

Here, it’s possible to be alone, if I wish, or be drawn into the babble of camaraderie to share a love of wild places with other like-minded individuals."

- Kev Reynolds, author of The Mountain Hut Book

Contents
Introduction
1 Rooms with a view
Huts for all
Huts for trekkers
Huts for climbers
Huts for watching wildlife
Huts for walkers
2 Hut life
House rules
Sleeping and eating
The hut guardian
Paying for the privilege
Not huts – Berghotels and gîtes d’étape
3 Top ten huts
Cabane d’Arpitettaz
Refuge des Bans
Refuge de Bellachat
Rifugio Bolzano/Schlernhaus
Burg Hut
Cabane des Dix
Refuge Entre Deux Eaux
Grutten Hut
Rifugio Longoni
Totalp Hut
4 Hut to hut
Tour of the Vanoise
Rätikon Höhenweg
Tour of the Jungfrau Region
Stubai High Level Route
Tour of the Bernina
Tour of Mont Blanc
Tour of Val de Bagnes
Tour of the Oisans: GR54
Alta Via 2
Tour of the Wilder Kaiser
5 Hovels to hotels
Bivouacs, boulders and caves
Loathsome dens
The age of the mountain hut
The overcrowded Alps
Between the wars
The future has arrived
Alpine Clubs and their huts
6 Beyond the Alps – bothies, huts and lodges
Andes
Appalachians
Atlas Mountains
Canadian Rockies
Caucasus
Corsica
Himalaya
Picos de Europa
Pyrenees
Southern Alps
Tatras
Appendix A    Useful contacts
Appendix B    Directory of alpine huts
Appendix C    Glossary for alpine trekkers
Appendix D    Further reading
Index

May 2019

Update

Free Royal Mail 48 postage on UK orders. European postage is £3.50 per item. Worldwide postage is £5.50 per item. If you're not happy with your purchase for any reason, we'll give you a full refund.