This book is a celebration of mountain huts, showcasing the the sheer variety and sometimes quirky nature of these buildings that allow walkers, trekkers and climbers to access remote corners of the mountains. Packed with entertaining stories that bring the places and people to life, it contains descriptions of the author's favourite huts in the Alps, along with suggestions for hut-to-hut tours of 3-13 days duration, including the Tour of Mont Blanc. It also traces the history of huts and how they have evolved from the most primitive of shelters to the often purpose-built, eco-friendly buildings of today. For the uninitiated, it unravels some of the mystery of huts and explains how to use them and what facilities to expect. Above all, it illustrates the way in which mountain huts can be truly sociable places, where like-minded people can spend a night or two in the most magical of locations and share a love of wild places.

A lifelong passion for the countryside in general, and mountains in particular, drives 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 among various high mountain regions researching guidebooks, makes him The Man with the World's Best Job; a title he aims to keep by remaining active for another 100 years at least. Kev has enjoyed a fruitful partnership with Cicerone since 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 and he has several more books in the pipeline. His latest book, A Walk in the Clouds, is a collection of autobiographical short stories recording 50 years of mountain travel and adventures. He is also the contributing editor of the collaborative guide Trekking in the Himalaya. A frequent contributor to outdoor magazines, Kev also writes and illustrates brochures for national tourist authorities and travel companies. When not away in the mountains, Kev lives with his wife in a small cottage among what he calls 'the Kentish Alps', with unrestricted walking country on the doorstep. But he also travels throughout Britain during the winter months to share his love of the places he writes about through a series of lectures.

Contents Introduction 1 Rooms with a view Huts for all Huts for trekkers Huts for climbers Huts for watching wildlife Huts for walkers 2 Hut life House rules Sleeping and eating The hut guardian Paying for the privilege Not huts - Berghotels and gtes d'étape 3 Top ten huts Cabane d'Arpitettaz Refuge des Bans Refuge de Bellachat Rifugio Bolzano/Schlernhaus Burg Hut Cabane des Dix Refuge Entre Deux Eaux Grutten Hut Rifugio Longoni Totalp Hut 4 Hut to hut Tour of the Vanoise Rtikon Hhenweg Tour of the Jungfrau Region Stubai High Level Route Tour of the Bernina Tour of Mont Blanc Tour of Val de Bagnes Tour of the Oisans: GR54 Alta Via 2 Tour of the Wilder Kaiser 5 Hovels to hotels Bivouacs, boulders and caves Loathsome dens The age of the mountain hut The overcrowded Alps Between the wars The future has arrived Alpine Clubs and their huts 6 Beyond the Alps - bothies, huts and lodges Andes Appalachians Atlas Mountains Canadian Rockies Caucasus Corsica Himalaya Picos de Europa Pyrenees Southern Alps Tatras Appendix A Useful contacts Appendix B Directory of alpine huts Appendix C Glossary for alpine trekkers Appendix D Further reading Index