Alpine Field Guide

A 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.