The Alps Rough Guides Snapshot France Includes Grenoble Chamb Ry Trois Vall Es Annecy Mont Blanc Chamonix Lake Geneva And Besan On

The Rough Guide Snapshot France: The Alps and Franche-Comté is the ultimate travel guide to this rugged part of southeast France. It leads you through the region with reliable information and comprehensive coverage of all the sights and attractions, from world-class ski resorts to laidback lakeside retreats. Detailed maps and up-to-date listings pinpoint the best cafés, restaurants, hotels, shops, bars and nightlife ensuring you make the most of your trip, whether passing through, staying for the weekend or longer. The Rough Guides Snapshot France: The Alps and Franche-Comté covers Grenoble, the Chartreuse massif, Briançon, Parc National des Écrins, Gap, Parc Régional du Queyras, Chambéry, Parc National de la Vanoise, Annecy, Mont Blanc, Chamonix, Lake Geneva, Besançon, Lons-le-Saunier, Région des Lacs and Belfort. Also included is the Basics section from the Rough Guide to France, with all the practical information you need for travelling in and around the country, including transport, food, drink, costs, health and festivals. Also published as part of the Rough Guide to France.

A guidebook of walks in the lovely Haute Savoie mountains of France. This guide describes 30 circular routes of between 7 and 20km, based around Annecy, La Clusaz, Grand Bornand, Plateau d'Assy, Samoëns, Sixt, Sallanches, Thônes, la Roche-sur-Foron. Graded from easy to difficult, there are walks to suit most abilities, but a few have some exposed sections and need a head for heights. The guidebook is divided into 6 areas covering the Arve Valley, the Haut Giffre valley, the Chaîne des Aravis, Plateau de la Borne and Lake Annecy. Alongside a detailed route description and map, each walk has a summary of all you need to know before you set out. There is advice on travel, accommodation and equipment, as well as information about local wildlife and Savoyard food and drink, and a glossary of useful French words. Visitors flock to the Chamonix area and the Mont Blanc range, but that is only part of what the Haute Savoie has to offer. With stunning views of high mountains as well as lower peaks to enjoy, the walks in this guide will show you a quieter, less busy side to this outstandingly beautiful area. A companion volume, Walking in Haute Savoie: North, is also available (ISBN: 781852848101)

This guidebook shows the vast range of activities available in the mountains surrounding Chamonix. With routes for several different pursuits including walking, trail running, mountain biking, road cycling, via ferratas, rock climbing, mountaineering and bouldering, it is a comprehensive collection of everything this popular region has to offer. All the routes and activities range in difficulty, from easy strolls for all abilities to moderate rock climbs and glacier hikes, which require either technical skills or a professional guide. Families, groups of friends and mountaineers looking for a 'rest day' or a change to what they're used to will all find something to whet their appetites here. Chamonix has long been a dream destination for mountain adventures and its environment is ideal for such a varied list of activities. This guide allows you to enjoy its spectacular views and renowned summits in many different ways or by mixing and matching your favourites.

The 66 via ferrata routes in this guidebook are grouped by area - Geneva and the Northern Alps, Chambery, the Tarentaise and Maurienne valleys, Grenoble and Briancon - and run the full gamut of challenge, from very easy, protected routes suitable for children, through to extremely exposed and technical routes for experienced ferratists only. Routes are illustrated by topo diagrams on colour photographs, and simple sketch maps. Those used to the older Italian routes will find these French routes quite different, closer to scrambling or rock climbing and often seeking out the most vertigo-inducing terrain. But most routes should be within the reach of any strong hillwalker and protection is high and well maintained. Recent years have witnessed a surge in the number of via ferrata routes set up in the iconic mountains of the French Alps. With routes set on or near many classics including the massifs of Mont Blanc, the Vanoise and the Queyras, this guide shows the best of what is now available.

Discover the skiing downhills of the Chamonix Mountain in this very detailed and documented book, written by one of the most talented skiers of his generation. Located at the very heart of the highest mountains of Europe, the majestic Chamonix massif stands as a reference among the most sacred skiing places in the world. When winter comes, this snow-addict heaven offers a unique range of dream slopes, from the easiest to the most breathtakingly high ones. Anselme Baud is an extreme skiing leading head and one of the best experts of this mountain. From classic skiing hikes to mountaineering competitions, this guide book presents a precise description of all the biggest slopes this mythic area could offer. In this volume you can find all the information about Chamonix. Thanks to his charming accounts and instructive advice, Anselme Baud shares with us his precious and wide experience as a high mountain guide and an exceptional skier. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Born in Morzine in 1948, Anselme Baud left his mark on the Alps skiing steep slopes history. As a high mountain guide in 1973, he was one the first to ski on extreme downhills in the Alps, the Andes, in Antarctica or in the Himalayas. As an ENSA professor, he supervised during several years the mountain guides trainings in Bolivia and Nepal. EXCERPT We now come to the Chamonix Aiguilles and the final section of the Mont Blanc Massif. You can’t miss the Chamonix ‘Needles’ as you arrive in this, the capital of mountaineering. Above and behind them, forming the heart of the Massif, sit Mont Blanc and its surrounding peaks (the Tacul, Maudit and Goûter), which have made the valley famous. There are two different approaches to skiing in this area: – classic ski-touring, with its 1 to 2-day climbs and long descents that require mountaineering skills and experience as this is a high mountain environment crossing glaciated terrain; – the ‘new wave’ of freeriders. Using the cable-cars means you can shorten or completely avoid long climbs up to some of the routes in this area, and the approach to the valley’s ‘mythic’ descents, such as the north face of the Aiguille du Midi, can be relatively quick and easy. In fact, from the start of winter a veritable festival of freerider descents is played out before our eyes. Just after a large fall of snow, the slopes on the Glacier Rond, the Cosmiques Couloir and many other routes become almost ‘snow parks’, which would have been inconceivable 30 years ago...

This guidebook contains in-depth route description and mapping for both the classic 11 day anti-clockwise circuit and an alternative 10 day clockwise TMB circuit. This well-signed but demanding 170km route, starting from Les Houches or Champex, is suitable for fit walkers. The guidebook comes with a map booklet containing official 1:25,000 IGN mapping for the TMB route, and urban maps for the major centres of Chamonix, Courmayeur, Les Contamines, Les Houches and Champex. Complete with a French-English glossary, comprehensive notes about accommodation, facilities and transport, this guide provides all the information needed for planning and completing your trek. The Tour of Mont Blanc is one of the world's classic treks. Visiting France, Italy and Switzerland, the TMB passes through some of Europe's most spectacular mountain scenery, with views of the peaks and glaciers of the magnificent Mont Blanc massif.