Snow, Ice and Mixed

Book excerpt: Recognised as an essential reference work for all mountaineers who climb in the Mont Blanc Range, Snow, Ice & Mixed is unusual among guidebooks in that it is both exhaustive and succinct. For this third edition, Snow, Ice & Mixed has been updated, expanded, corrected and reorganised in order to take into account changes in climbing conditions and the latest developments in mountaineering, as well as the numerous new routes that have been climbed in recent years. Past and present... Volume one of the new guidebook describes more than 750 routes in 15 glacial basins in the eastern half of the Mont Blanc Range - recording for posterity routes climbed by our predecessors while highlighting the dynamism of the current climbing scene ; describing cols, notches and minor summits, as well as famous faces and prestigious peaks ; and turning the spotlight on recent climbs without overlooking either established classics or rarely trodden lines.