Field Journal

Writer and editor Alex Roddie has launched his latest book, Wanderlust Alps
Interview by Jenny Tough // Photography by Alex Roddie

Alex Roddie is a prolific outdoor writer and active backpacker, mountaineer, and climber with over 15 years of outdoor experience. After the success of Wanderlust Europe, which highlighted some of the best long-distance hikes on the European continent, he has launched Wanderlust Alps, focusing on his favourite hiking region.

Alex: The Alps are the best of both worlds when it comes to outdoor adventures. Wildness and human infrastructure come in equal proportions, so you can find yourself enjoying expansive mountains, nature, and get away from the crowds, but you’re never that far away from villages where you can find food and lodging. Everything that you need is easily accessible, the weather is reliable, and it’s such a big area that you can spend your entire lifetime exploring it. I’ve spent a lot of time hiking in the Alps, but doing the research for this book really showed me how much there still is out there for me to see.

Sidetracked: What was your first experience of hiking in the Alps?
Alex: Back in 2007, I was a young student and absolutely obsessed with mountaineering culture and literature from the golden era of mountain exploration in the Alps. I had a lot of romantic ideas about heading out there (coming from the flatlands of England) and summiting loads of peaks. My brother came with me to Zermatt, where we did a lot of climbing and hiking – but, feeling young and invincible and wanting to be like hardcore climbers, we made a lot of mistakes that culminated in a very uncomfortable night sleeping in a diagonal snow hole on our way up Mettelhorn. To save weight, we had left behind our bivvy sacs and hadn’t taken enough food. I realised that I was out of my depth in the Alps and my confidence felt quite low. But, the next day, we made it to the summit and I remember having this great moment, looking out over the mountains, realising that I can do this. I’ve been mountaineering and trekking ever since.

What was the process of writing this book like?
I started writing in late 2020, when we went into another Covid wave, so it was something to focus on that really got me through that period. I got to spend every day looking at maps and thinking about great places to hike – focusing on those good times ahead really sustained me. I had to wonder if by the time anyone was able to read this book and go hiking in the Alps things would be different over there, so there was a little uncertainty in the background. But I did want this book to come out during this time so that people have something positive to focus on. Planning future trips and dreaming about adventure gives everyone something to look forward to, and that feels important.

You’re an incredibly experienced hiker all throughout Europe – what is it about the Alps that makes it so amazing?
You’ve really got the best of both worlds between wildness and human infrastructure. We don’t have that level of wilderness in the UK – you’re never that far away from a town or at least a road, so you can always get out of trouble easily (if you need to). So our wildness feels very conditional. And then on the other end of the scale, Scandinavia has so much wilderness that a lot of the hikes can be difficult from the perspective of distance between resupplies and proximity to help. So the Alps really do strike the balance for having the best of both – you get big mountains and wildness away from the crowds, but then the villages and mountain huts are everywhere when you need them. You can sometimes camp, the infrastructure is easy, the weather is reliable, and, best of all, it’s such a big area. You can spend your whole lifetime exploring the Alps. The book has really driven that home for me – I’ve spent a lot of time in these countries, but there’s still so much more to see.

What advice would you give to anyone who wants to take on one of the routes in the book?
This book is definitely for inspiration, so if you’re going to hike one of the routes you’ll still need proper maps and/or the route downloaded to your phone. I would also recommend Cicerone guidebooks for detailed guides. That said, I would advise anyone not to be a slave to their guidebook once they’re out on the hike. Get maps out in advance and visualise the route before you start.