The Mountain Hut Book
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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.
Kev Reynolds
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.
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