Skip to product information
Walking in the Alps - Front Cover
1/9

Walking in the Alps

A comprehensive guide to walking and trekking throughout the Alps

An outstanding and comprehensive book exploring the walking and trekking possibilities in every Alpine region. Many thousands of possible routes are suggested, from the Maritime Alps of southern France throughout the range to the Julian Alps of Slovenia. Walks vary from undemanding to long and tough, and everything in between.

The eBook is also sold by Amazon Kindle, Rakuten Kobo, Google Play Books and Apple Books.

Quick facts

  • Coverage: The Alps
  • Countries: France, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Slovenia
  • Alpine regions covered: Maritime Alps, Dauphiné, Graian Alps, Mont Blanc Range, Pennine Alps, Bernese Alps, Central Swiss Alps, Lepontine Alps, Bernina Alps, Adamello-Presanella-Brenta, Ortler Alps, Silvretta Alps, Ötztal Alps, Stubai Alps, Zillertal Alps, Eastern Austrian Alps, Northern Limestone Alps, Dolomites, Julian Alps
  • Format: Large format (23.4 x 15.6cm), 1,120g
  • Classic routes included: Tour du Mont Blanc, Walker's Haute Route, Tour of the Vanoise, Stubai High Route, Zillertal Hut Tour, Alta Via 1, Alta Via 2, Sentiero Roma and many more
  • Difficulty: Full range, from gentle valley walks to long and demanding multi-day tours
  • Best season: June to September for high-level routes; lower walks possible May to October

Detailed overview

The Alps stretch from the Maritime Alps of southern France to the Julian Alps of Slovenia, encompassing some of the most diverse and spectacular mountain terrain in the world. From the ice-bound giants of the Bernese Oberland and the rock towers of the Dolomites to the little-known ranges of eastern Austria, the possibilities for walking and trekking are almost limitless.

Kev Reynolds's definitive Cicerone guidebook explores walking and trekking possibilities across every Alpine region, suggesting routes at every level of difficulty, from gentle valley walks to long and demanding multi-day tours.

The guide covers 19 distinct Alpine regions from the Maritime Alps of southern France to the Julian Alps of Slovenia, with each chapter describing the character of the area, the best walks and treks, hut-to-hut routes and multi-day tours
Classic routes described in detail include the Tour du Mont Blanc, the Walker's Haute Route, the Tour of the Vanoise, the Stubai High Route, the Zillertal Hut Tour, the Alta Via 1 and Alta Via 2 in the Dolomites, the Sentiero Roma in the Bernina Alps and many lesser-known hut-to-hut tours
Walks and treks are described at every level of difficulty, from gentle and undemanding valley routes to long and challenging multi-day tours, making the guide useful for a wide range of experience and ambition
Each regional chapter includes practical information on bases, access and accommodation alongside route suggestions, giving enough detail to plan a visit to any part of the Alps


Written by Kev Reynolds, whose knowledge of the Alps was unrivalled among English-language walking writers, this is an essential reference guide for anyone with a serious interest in Alpine walking and trekking.

Table of contents

1: THE MARITIME ALPS
Hut to Hut in the Alpes Maritime
Summary

2: DAUPHINÉ
Queyras
Tour du Queyras
Massif des Écrins
Tour de l'Oisans
Vercors
Summary

3: THE GRAIAN ALPS
The Western Graians
Tour du Mont Pourri
Tour des Glaciers de la Vanoise
Tour of the Vanoise
The Eastern Graians
Grande Traversata del Gran Paradiso
Alta Via della Valle d'Aosta No 2
A Traverse of the Graian Alps
Summary

4: THE MONT BLANC RANGE
Tour du Mont Blanc
Chablais, Faucigny & Dents du Midi
Summary

5: THE PENNINE ALPS
Tour des Combin
The Walker's Haute Route
The Eastward Traverse of the Italian Valleys
Summary

6: THE BERNESE ALPS
The Northern Valleys
Multi-day Circuit of the Lütschental and Lauterbrunnental
Tour Wildstrubel
The Southern Flank
Bernese Alps Glacier Tour
Oberland Passes
Summary



7: THE CENTRAL SWISS ALPS
The Eastern Bernese Alps
Tour of the Göschenertal
The Western Uri Alps
Uri-Rotstock Circuit
The Eastern Uri Alps & Glarner Alps
A Tour of the Hürital & Bisistal
Summary



8: THE LEPONTINE ALPS
A Tour of Ticino
Summary



9: THE BERNINA ALPS
The Bregaglia Alps
The Bregaglia Circuit
Sentiero Roma
The Bernina Massif
The Engadine Valley
Summary

10: ADAMELLO-PRESANELLA-BRENTA
Adamello-Presanella
An Adamello Circuit
The Brenta Dolomites
A Tour of the Central Brenta
Vie Ferratae
Summary



11: THE ORTLER ALPS
A Tour of the Ortler Alps
Summary



12: THE SILVRETTA ALPS
The Verwall Group
The Rätikon Alps
Rätikon Höhenweg Nord
The Silvretta Alps
Tour of the Southern Silvretta
The Silvretta Traverse
Summary



13: THE ÖTZTAL ALPS
Across the Central Ötztal Alps
Hut to Hut in the Ventertal
Gurglertal-Ventertal Hut Tour
Two-Day Cross-Border Tour
Across the Alpi Venoste
Summary



14: THE STUBAI ALPS
The Stubai High Route
Summary



15: THE ZILLERTAL ALPS
Zillertal Hut Tour
Summary



16: THE EASTERN AUSTRIAN ALPS
The Hohe Tauern
The Venediger Höhenweg
A Tour of the Glockner & Schober Groups
The Niedere Tauern
Hut to Hut in the Schladminger Tauern
The Gailtal & Carnic Alps
Summary



17: THE NORTHERN LIMESTONE ALPS
Allgäuer Alps
Lechtal Alps
A Lechtal High Route
Wettersteingebirge & Mieminger Kette
Karwendelgebirge
Hut to Hut Across the Karwendelgebirge
Rofangebirge (Brandenberger Alps)
Kaisergebirge
Berchtesgadener Alps
Tennengebirge
Dachsteingebirge
Tour of the Gosaukamm
A Dachstein Circuit
Totes Gebirge
Summary



18: THE DOLOMITES
Sassolungo & Puez-Odle Groups
Catinaccio & Latemar
Sella Group
Marmolada Group
Pale di San Martino
Civetta & Pelmo
Sorapis & Marmarole
Monte Cristallo
Dolomiti di Sesto
High Level Routes
Alta Via 1
Alta Via 2
Alta Via 4
Summary



19: THE JULIAN ALPS
The Julian Alps of Slovenia
The Julian Alps of Italy
Summary

Which format is best for me?

Printed book

A guidebook with detailed route descriptions, stage breakdowns, accommodation listings, profiles and maps — everything you need on the trail.

ISBN9781852844769
AvailabilityPublished
Published1 November 2005
Reprinted6 December 2021
Pages512
Weight 1120g

eBook

The complete digital edition of the guidebook, with full route descriptions, accommodation listings, profiles and maps, ready to use on any device.

Updates

  1. Updated

    Route Updates

    Page 286:

    Adamello Circuit with grateful thanks to reader, David Lloyd for the following information)

    Please note that Passo del Maroccaro is now closed due to erosion on the Passo Tonale side above the Presena Glacier. With the retreat of the glacier due to a warming climate the upper sections of the path have become unstable and there have been reports of rock falls and landslides. An alternative path has now been opened further East, which presents a deviation in the route described in the book.

    The route is not clearly indicated and from the Mandrone Hut it would be easy to make the mistake of heading due north to Passo del Maroccaro instead of taking a north-easterly heading to Passo Paradiso which is now the new access point to and from the Presena glacier. The overall distance is in my opinion no greater, but if a mistake was made forcing the walker to retreat it could be costly in terms of time.

    September 2015

    Please note that due to a massive rockfall from Piz Cengalo, the route connecting Capanna Sasc Fura with the Sciora Hut via Colle Vial – as outlined on pp255/256 – has been closed. Further rockfalls are expected.

    July 2013

    Readers planning to walk the Adamello Circuit described on pp286-290 are advised that Passo di Lago Scuro page 286) is now too dangerous to attempt the wardens at the Bedole and Mandrone refuges issue a dire warning). Use the alternative crossing via Passo del Maroccaro instead - this is also described.

    With thanks to reader Geoff Whitby for this information.

    Kev Reynolds

Meet the author

A lifelong passion for the countryside in general, and mountains in particular, drove Kev's desire to share his sense of wonder and delight in the natural world through his writing, guiding, photography and lecturing. Spending several months every year in various high-mountain regions researching guidebooks made him The Man with the World's Best Job.

Kev enjoyed a fruitful partnership with Cicerone from the 1970s, producing 50 books, including guides to five major trekking regions of Nepal and to numerous routes in the European Alps and Pyrenees, as well as walking guides for Kent, Sussex and the Cotswolds. 'A Walk in the Clouds' is a collection of autobiographical short stories recording 50 years of mountain travel and adventures. He was also the contributing editor of the collaborative guide 'Trekking in the Himalaya' and Cicerone's celebratory anniversary compilation 'Fifty Years of Adventure'.

A frequent contributor to outdoor magazines, Kev also wrote and illustrated brochures for national tourist authorities and travel companies. When not away in the mountains, Kev lived with his wife in a small cottage among what he called 'the Kentish Alps', with unrestricted walking country on the doorstep. But he also travelled throughout Britain during the winter months to share his love of the places he wrote about through a series of lectures.

Sadly, Kev passed away in 2021. He will be remembered fondly by all who knew him and by many more he inspired through his writing and talks.