First Edition

Alpine Field Guide: Understanding the Mountains in a Changing World

Summary

A new book from Super Alpine explaining the forces shaping the Alps, from the rocks beneath your feet to the glaciers above.

The past two years have offered a stark glimpse of the Alps to come. Extreme heat, disappearing ice, major rockfalls, landslides and devastating floods have shown that climate change is no longer a distant environmental story. It is reshaping the mountains themselves.

The Alpine Field Guide is structured as a series of focused definitions and explanations covering the fundamental elements and processes that shape the mountain landscape, from geology and landforms to water, ice and climate. Each entry builds a clearer understanding of the terrain, giving context to the landscapes you encounter when walking, climbing or travelling through the Alps.

The book concludes with a closer examination of the events of recent years, including major rockfalls, collapsing slopes and glacial failures. The disaster at Blatten in 2025 illustrates how quickly the forces shaping the Alps can transform an entire landscape.

Cover of the Alpine Field Guide
Cover of the Alpine Field Guide

Contents

  • Introduction Why This Book Exists
  • 01
    Chapter The Anatomy of a Mountain
  • 02
    Chapter Rocks and Time
  • 03
    Chapter Snow and Ice
  • 04
    Chapter Alpine Landforms
  • 05
    Chapter Cliffs and Walls
  • 06
    Chapter Alpine Lakes and Water
  • 07
    Chapter Alpine Glaciers
  • 08
    Chapter The Unstable Alps
  • Appendix Field Reference
  • Appendix Alpine Field Notes
Anatomy of a Mountain chapter
Anatomy of a Mountain chapter from the book
Definitions pages
Definitions of mountain terms from the book
When the mountain comes down chapter
When the mountain comes down section from the book
Field References chapter
Field References chapter
Alpine Field Guide video

Bibliographic Details

Print Edition

Alpine Field Guide

Understand the forces shaping the Alps, from the rocks beneath your feet to the glaciers and peaks.

Shop now

Available exclusively from Backcountry Books.
Not sold on Amazon.