Heading for the Alps this summer? Whether you’re a novice taking your first tentative steps on foreign snow and ice, a trekker planning a hut-to-hut walk, or a seasoned alpinist hoping to add to your collection of summits, we’ve got loads of essential skills and equipment advice for you right here on the BMC website.

The Alps have been a playground for mountaineers since the earliest days of the sport, and their magnetic attraction pulls just as strongly today. Alpine mountaineering provides challenges that just can’t be experienced in the UK, such as glacier travel.

The mountains are much bigger too, with summits reaching above 4,000 metres requiring acclimatisation for their successful ascent. There’s a greater variation in extreme weather, and speed is often a crucial factor for safe progress.

So to help you avoid the pitfalls of crevasses or the chill of an unplanned bivi, we’ve collected our most useful alpine articles here in one convenient place. Make sure your skills are as sharp as your axe picks by reading the information and advice in the following articles, and have fun putting your skills to the test:

Clothing & Equipment

• What gear do you need to start mountaineering?
• Gear for Alpine rock climbing
• Crampons for mortals    
• The Knowledge: Helmets   
• How to choose a sleeping bag
• Via ferrata: the basics
• Via Ferrata equipment  
• Via ferrata: the gear
• Via ferrata: the moves
• 5 bits of Alpine kit that could save your life

Skills & Hazards

• Hill skills: the Euro way    
• Alpine Skills
• How to go snowshoeing
• Falling into a crevasse: would you know what to do?
• Be avalanche aware: new free advice download
• French style: moving quickly in the Alps
• An introduction to altitude
• Recommended rates of ascent
• Alpine skills: how to speed up
• Crevasse rescue
• Tech skills: Abseil stations  
• Video: Ice axe self arrest  
• Lightning strikes
• What are the Jonathan Conville skills courses?
• Alpine tricks of the trade: Rob Greenwood interview
• British Mountain Guides: pinnacle of experience
• How to move fast and light: the experts' way
• Off-piste skills: the essentials

Access & Environment

• Alpine huts explained    
• Get alpine hut discounts with a Reciprocal Rights Card
• Climate change and the BMC    
• Eurostar confirms change of policy on ice axes

Emergencies

• Emergencies abroad: calling for help in the mountains
• Mountain incidents: what to do?     
• UIAA mountain medicine advice sheets
• BMC insurance

General Information

• Alpine a to z
• 5 top places for family trekking in Europe
• How to go hut trekking in the Alps
• 5 reasons to go trekking in Europe
• How to start mountaineering
• 5 easy Alpine peaks
• 6 classic beginner alpine routes
• Less difficult classics in the Mont Blanc Massif 
• How to climb Cosmiques Arete
• 5 of the best alpine routes to aspire to
• Over 80 Fun Fives in the Mont Blanc Region 
• Top ten Vallee Blanche myths
• Moderate icefall climbing in the Mont Blanc region
• Five of Europe’s best long rock routes
• Where to go ski-touring?   
• Alpine Journal goes digital
• How to find your alpine moment

Books & DVDs
(from the BMC online shop)

• BMC Alpine Essentials DVD   
• BMC Off Piste Essentials DVD  
• BMC technical advice booklets   
• BMC Crampons & Ice Axes booklet 
• Walking in the Alps    
• Trekking in the Alps    
• The 4000m Peaks of the Alps

Also check out our free to members Summit magazine Alpine edition app here

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Europe by Train

Seat61 has a plethora of information, ready-planned for you to make your train journeys to Europe plain sailing. We fully recommend checking out the routes available and booking in advance to get the best deals on cheaper tickets.

PLAN YOUR LOW-IMPACT TRAVELS: Find public transport routes across Europe 

WATCH: BMC Travel Cover built for the mountains

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