Tour Of Mont Blanc: Complete Two-way Trekking Guide (Cicerone Guides) Download Free (EPUB, PDF)

                
              
Tour Of Mont Blanc: Complete Two-way Trekking Guide (Cicerone Guides) Download Free (EPUB, PDF)
Fully-updated third edition of this trekking guide, by alpine expert Kev Reynolds, to the classic Tour of Mont Blanc or TMB (170km, 105 miles) in 11 days. The route takes the walker into France, Switzerland and Italy and is described in both anti-clockwise and clockwise directions, with variants and information about facilities en route.
Series: Cicerone Guides
Flexibound: 240 pages
Publisher: Cicerone Press Limited; 1 edition (February 15, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1852846720
ISBN-13: 978-1852846725
Product Dimensions:  4.7 x 0.7 x 6.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
Average Customer Review:  4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #712,301 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)   #77 in Books > Travel > Europe > Switzerland   #95 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Mountaineering > Excursion Guides   #937 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Mountaineering > Mountain Climbing
Concise but comprehensive guide to the Tour du Mont Blanc. I used it for the TMB in 2012 and found it accurate with respect to navigation, public transport options, & contact details for refuges & other accommodation. Daily distances & times, as Mr Reynolds takes pains to point out, are exclusive of time spent eating, drinking, resting, photography or otherwise admiring the jaw-dropping scenery. My experience is that quoted walking times would be approximately accurate for someone with good prior conditioning carrying a light pack in good weather. The author has hiked extensively in the Alps, publishing many guides, and is sometimes prone to make distinction where none exist to the less mountain-weary. An example of this would be that he is, on occasion, somewhat dismissive of non-glaciated terrain which, to me, is not devoid of its own aesthetic charm.
If you are looking for reviews (which do not exist, as I write), check out the second edition, which has a number of reviews. Long story short: This is a much admired, "standard" among Alpine guidebooks although there seems to be a consensus among folks who actually have done the trek that it is prudent to supplement this book with detailed topo maps and/or other resources.(The Kindle sample chapter is nice, especially on a PC or Kindle Fire where you can enjoy the full-color photos. My hard copy is on the way.)(The Wall Street Journal published a nice account of the trek on 5/5/12 mentioning this book. Search "WSJ Mont Blanc." The hikers were a youngish couple but not especially athletically fit.)
If you're thinking of hiking the Tour of Mount Blanc... look no further for a complete guide to the trek. This guide has everything you need... except the muscle... to do this amazing hike on your own. Almost everyone we met on the trail had this reference book - we all used it every day of the hike!
We did the hike in 2013 after reading about the hike in the WSJ. I researched the hike and learned about this guide as well as a web site walkingtheTMB which has individual experiences about doing the hike from people around the world. We studied this guide beforehand and referenced it daily during the hike. It hasn't been updated since 2012 and some information about refuges available may be out of date. Some new ones have been added that we learned about along the way. This book was used by virtually everyone we met who does the walk from all around the world. In fact we met several fellow walkers in restaurants when we saw them refering to the book. If you read this book you do not need to hire a guide or pay a tour company to support you on the trek. If you are reasonably fit and know how to read a map you can do the hike as a self-guided trip. It will be the experience of a lifetime.
Great book and probably the most informative one out there. Wish it included more detailed maps and catered to people who camp along the TMB. This is a GREAT resource for those staying in refuges, but not necessarily for those who are camping and need more ideas of where to camp. Getting a detailed map (25,000:1) is recommended along with this book. Also, there was a section that said to NOT take the main TMB route if there is inclement weather (along an exposed ridge) but it doesn't offer an alternative route. The author does admit this, but it means you have to prepare and look it up before that section. I would also divide the book into two smaller books, or have a way to take out the counterclockwise or clockwise route that you are NOT doing. It's just added weight along the trail to bring both routes. (I ended up cutting out the CCW section since we were doing CW)Overall a great resource and everyone on the TMB had this, but like most things, there can be improvements.
This is hands-down the definitive guide to the TMB. My wife and I, along with twelve other friends, just completed the Tour du Mont Blanc a couple of days ago, and this book proved to be indispensable. From the route descriptions and the variations, to the refuge listings and rudimentary maps (I mean that in a good way--the maps were simple and clear), we consulted the book often. If you're planning on doing the TMB without a guide service, consider this to be your guide!
This guide was indispensible while on TMB (Tour of Mont Blanc). As others indicated, the author clearly has done his research on the route. The book covered about 95-98% of the situations I ran into while on the trek and there is no doubt that you will need this book.However, the author could have listed that most, if not all, of the refuges on the treks are only open for lunch at 12pm (and dinner around 7pm) - this made for some timing issues on one section at the beginning of the trek before I found this out. Also, I had to skip about 2 days of trekking due to rain, and had to figure out local transportations from one town to others on my own. A few routes he listed also are technically "shortcuts," but he doesn't quite state that. So sometimes, I got confused with "... so the main trail/sign points this way, but he tells me to head that way.... which way do I really go?" These are minor, but my one big criticism about this book is it's size and weight - the book covers both the clockwise and counterclockwise directions, which made the book twice as big as it really needs to and as such, the book (which is not pocket sized) was slightly difficult to use while on the trek (where do I keep it for immediate reference?). In conclusion, indispensible, but not perfect.
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