100 Hut Walks in the Alps: Routes for Day and Multi-day WalksExtending in huge arc of more than 1000km (620 miles) from the Mediterranean coast near Nice to the low, wooded foothills outside Vienna, the Alps display the full gamut of mountain landscape features. Loacated amidst some of the most beautiful scenery in Europe, the chain of mountain huts strung right across the Alps makes an exciting and worthwhile destination. The huts provide a focus for all the walks in this guidebook, whether you chose to stay overnight or simply for lunch on the terrace. They come in all shapes and sizes, from simple unmanned bivouac shelters to bustling mountain inns with hot showers and restaurant service. This guidebook contains detailed route descriptions for 100 walks that span from the Maritime Alps of southern France to the Julians of Slovenia, from Italys Gran Paradiso to the little known Trnitzer Alps of eastern Austria, from the ice-bound giants of the Bernese Oberland to the green rolling Kitzbheler Alps and the bizarre towers of the Dolomites of South Tirol. All of the routes have been specially selected in an attempt to show the amazing diversity of this wonderful mountain chain. The layout of this guidebook is such that the walks are grouped, first under the indivdual country, then under specific Alpine districts. There are walks to suit every taste: gentle and undemanding, long and tough, and everything in between. Most of the routes avoid climbing of a technical nature except the odd scramble aided by a fixed rope. Glacier crossings where crevasses lurk for the unwary have also been avoided in the main, although just a small handful of walks stray onto ice in order to reach a distant hut. Most walks described in this guidbook follow established routes along marked trails, but on occasion wild terrain is encountered when extra caution should be adopted. Some routes are on trails safeguarded in places with fixed ropes, chains or cables. Although you may feel confident on these sections, the safeguards have been provided for very good reasons so take care. Since many of the huts visited in this guidebook are situated in fairly remote locations, walkers ought to be familiar with basic navigational procedures before tackling some of the longer routes described. |
