RECOMMENDED READING:
The following books are some of many we would recommend for reading before coming to the Alps.
Some are what we would call 'background' reading, some are specific to the trip you will be doing, and all are excellent preparation and fun to read, counting the days before your holiday begins.
The books & maps are divided into following categories:
1: GUIDE BOOKS
2: TOPOGRAPHIC MAPS
3: 'HOW TO' BOOKS
4: REGIONAL TITLES
1: GUIDE BOOKS
| BOOK TITLE |
USA |
CANADA |
UK |
Peter Cliff:
The Haute Route
Peter is a IFMGA mountain guide and has been the president of the British Mountain Guide Association for a long time.
His book describes the Haute Route in the summer as a glacier trek, and in the winter as a ski touring traverse.
Both sections have very good background information including possible variations that can be done, and some map drawings for each day.
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Hilary Sharp/Victor Saunders:
Trekking and Climbing in the Western Alps
This is a very useful guide book, with lots of information and 'how to do things'.
An 'amazon.com' -reviewer writes:
"...nice price for a book detailing 22 different Alpine treks.
Ms. Sharp includes practical "how to" information on each trek, as well as essentials on technical peaks that are accessible along the way.
On page 158, the book has a section on the Haute Route Glacier Trek (trek 21).
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2: TOPOGRAPHIC MAPS
| MAP TITLE |
USA |
CANADA |
UK |
1:50,000 topographic maps (green series)
For the Haute Route Ski Traverse, you would need following maps, published by the Swiss government (Office fédéral de topographie):
5003 Mont Blanc - Grand Combin
5006 Matterhorn - Mischabel
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1:25,000 topographic maps (brown series)
If you are an avid skier/hiker in the Alps, and will use the maps for more than one trip, you could also purchase the 1:25,000 series, the maps are much more detailed than the 1:50,000 maps.
However, you would have to purchase several maps to cover the whole Haute Route Ski Traverse:
1344 Col de Balme
1345 Orsières
1346 Chanrion
1347 Matterhorn/Monte Cervino
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3: 'HOW TO' BOOKS
| BOOK TITLE |
USA |
CANADA |
UK |
Andrew Selters:
Glacier Travel and Crevasse Rescue
"This superb primer is now larger and sports new photos and excellent drawings that illustrate the technical aspects of travel in glacier country." (Back Country Magazine)
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David Seidman, Paul Cleveland:
The Essential Wilderness Navigator
This book has the best ratings by far for all orienteering/navigating books. All skills are explained in a language everybody can understand, and covers meticously all assetts of orientieering with a compass/map. The book does talk about GPS and how to use it, but is not a specific book for navigating with a GPS. |
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The Mountaineers Club:
Mountaineering - Freedom of the hills
"... I've been reading "Freedom" since its early editions; in addition to being an excellent and entertaining course in general mountaineering, it's also a fabulous ready-reference. I've lost track of how many times I've looked up a particular knot, rappel technique, belay menthod, etc.etc.etc. Excellent sections on rock, ice, snow, and just about everything else. I can't imagine any mountaineering library being without it ..." (reader's review, amazon) |
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4: REGIONAL TITLES
| BOOK TITLE |
USA |
CANADA |
UK |
Fergus Fleming:
Killing of Dragons
Killing of Dragons" is a history of the exploration of the French, Swiss, and Italian Alps from the early 18th century to 1938, when the "last problem of the Alps", the Eiger Nordwand, was finally "solved." The first half of the book discusses the early French and Swiss scientists and adventurers who explored the slopes of Mont Blanc and studied the glaciers of the Bernese Oberland.
The 19th century belonged to the eccentric British explorers and scientists and an American expatriate, William Coolidge, who were driven to the mountains by a variety of forces. |
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Edward Whymper: Scrambles amongst the Alps
Whymper's own story about the first ascents in the Alps. Here is a review of a delighted reader:
"...Since I first read this little classic, Edward Whymper's book on scrambling in the Alps has always been my favorite mountaineering book.
This is Victorian mountain writing at its very best, in an age before high technology and polarfleece added safety and comfort.
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Edward Whymper:
The Ascent of the Matterhorn
Whymper's own account of his first ascent of the Matterhorn, during which three of his comrades fell to their death while descending. |
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