WALKING IN THE ALPS
BY
KEV REYNOLDS
About the Author
Kev Reynolds is a freelance author, photojournalist and lecturer whose first title for Cicerone Press (Walks & Climbs in the Pyrenees) was published in 1978, and has been in print ever since. He has produced many books on the Alps, a series of trekkers’ guides to Nepal and, nearer to home, several guides on walking in southern England. He also contributes regular features for the outdoor press, writes and illustrates brochures for tourist authorities, and occasionally leads walking or trekking holidays in various high mountain regions. The first honorary member of the British Association of European Mountain Leaders (BAEML), and a member of the Alpine Club, Austrian Alpine Club and Outdoor Writers’ Guild, Kev’s enthusiasm for the countryside in general, and mountains in particular, remains undiminished after a lifetime’s activity. When not trekking or climbing in one of the world’s great mountain ranges, Kev lives among what he calls ‘the Kentish Alps’, and during the winter months regularly travels throughout Britain to share that enthusiasm through his lectures. Check him out on www.kevreynolds.co.uk.
Cicerone guides by the same author
The Swiss Alps
Trekking in the Alps
Trekking in the Himalaya
Trekking in the Silvretta & Rätikon Alps
A Walk in the Clouds
Abode of the Gods
Walks in the Engadine – Switzerland
Walking in the Valais
The Bernese Alps
Central Switzerland
Ticino – Switzerland
The Jura (with R. B. Evans)
Chamonix to Zermatt – the Walker’s Haute Route
Alpine Pass Route
Tour of Mont Blanc
Écrins National Park
100 Hut Walks in the Alps
Tour of the Vanoise
Alpine Points of View
Annapurna – a Trekker’s Guide
Langtang, Gosainkund & Helambu
Everest – a Trekker’s Guide
Manaslu – a Trekker’s Guide
Kangchenjunga – a Trekker’s Guide
Walks & Climbs in the Pyrenees
The Pyrenees
The Wealdway & Vanguard Way
Walking in Kent
Walking in Sussex
The North Downs Way
The South Downs Way
The Cotswold Way
Tour of the Jungrau Region
Tour of the Oisans
Walking in Austria
© Kev Reynolds 1998, 2005
2nd edition 2005
Reprinted 2010 and 2017 (with updates)
ISBN-13: 978 1 85284 476 9
ISBN-10: 1 85284 476 0
1st edition 1998 (ISBN 1 85284 261 X)
Reprinted 1999
Printed in Europe on behalf of Latitude Press Ltd.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
For my wife, without whose love and support this book would never have been written
Updates to this Guide
Readers are advised that, while every effort is made by our authors to ensure the accuracy of guidebooks as they go to print, changes can occur during the lifetime of an edition. Please check Updates on this book’s page on the Cicerone website (www.cicerone.co.uk/476/updates) before planning your trip. We would also advise that you check information about such things as transport, accommodation and shops locally. Even rights of way can be altered over time. We are always grateful for information about any discrepancies between a guidebook and the facts on the ground, sent by email to [email protected] or by post to Cicerone, 2 Police Square, Milnthorpe LA7 7PY, United Kingdom.
Front cover: Walkers in the Ar Pitetta glen above Zinal in the Pennine Alps. The backing wall of ice-clad mountains runs from the Weisshorn to Lo Besso.
CONTENTS
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION
INTRODUCTION
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 Combins
Tour of the Matterhorn
The Walker’s Haute Route
The Eastward Traverse of the Italian Valleys
Summary
6: THE BERNESE ALPS
The Northern Valleys
A tour of the Jungfrau region
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