Читать книгу The Swiss Alps онлайн

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In winter there’s an arctic, pristine beauty to the Alps that many find as appealing as summer’s fine textures and colours. The crisp cold air, clear skies and glistening snows invite activity. Wearing snowshoes the walker can explore a winter wonderland that would be inaccessible equipped only with boots, and those who are fit and experienced are able to snowshoe their way even to modest alpine summits. For a guide to some of the best winter routes, see Hilary Sharp’s Snowshoeing: Mont Blanc & the Western Alps (Cicerone, 2002).

While by far the majority of winter sports enthusiasts go for downhill skiing, with major resorts being Davos, Grindelwald, Klösters, Mürren, Saas Fee, St Moritz, Verbier, Wengen and Zermatt, Switzerland also boasts some of the most important areas for ski mountaineering, and hosts some of the most compelling of tours. The classic Haute Route (Mont Blanc to the Matterhorn) is an obvious example, but there are numerous others, of shorter duration perhaps, but no less rewarding, that can be enjoyed in the Pennine and Bernese Alps, in the Engadine and Central Swiss Alps, in the Albula Alps and Silvretta.