Читать книгу Alpine Ski Mountaineering Vol 2 - Central and Eastern Alps. Ski tours in Austria, Switzerland and Italy онлайн

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Traversing the summit ridge of the Mittaghorn – the Aletschhorn is the peak beyond, with the Hasler Rib well defined on the left

In reality, the Alps are criss-crossed with stunning ski tours, many of which have gained a classic status. It is difficult to define what ‘classic’ means. It is certainly more than a matter of being popular. The skiing on a classic tour should, in my opinion, demand a range of skiing and mountaineering skills, call for good navigation, and be challenging but nevertheless remain logical as a ski tour. The need to carry skis should be an occasional and logical necessity, whilst the prospect of some outstanding downhill must be high. Once completed, a classic tour should leave you with a better understanding of an area's physical geography, and above all it should be an enjoyable journey. Each tour in this book is arguably the best of its kind and standard in a particular mountain area and epitomises what is best about ski mountaineering in that region.

The tours in this guide cover significant part of the Northern as well as the Central and Eastern Alps. They range across Alpine Switzerland from its north-west corner to its south-east tip, from Vaud to Graübunden, before sliding east, following the vast arc of the Alps into the Austrian Tyrol and South Tyrol of north Italy.