Berg 2020 (Band 142)

Alpine topics that become the heart of the matter: the latest edition of the BERG bestseller.

The yearbook of the Alpine Club BERG has been a must-have in the mountain book industry for years with its convincing versatility of topics, excellent content and visual quality and an excellent price-performance ratio.
The current issue focuses on the Arlberg region with the Lechtal Alps in the BergWelten. None other than the well-known "weather whisperer" Karl Gabl from St. Anton am Arlberg presents the mountain world of his native country together with his wife, BERG author Stephanie Geiger. In addition, the cultural traces of the Walser inhabitants of the Haute-Lechtal are followed and the Lech habitat, one of the last wild river landscapes in the Alps in the upper reaches, is depicted.
The Arlberg, now the largest contiguous ski area in Austria, is inextricably linked to the history of skiing. MOUNTAIN 2020 shows how this "miracle of the snowshoe" happened, which brought about a completely new leisure and nature culture that continues to determine the economic development of the region to this day.
The close interrelationship of nature and technology determines the image of the Arlberg today. This is shown in a photo report by the photographer Gerhard Heidorn. The numerous avalanche protection equipment are also part of the snow infrastructure. The Arlberg has always had to live with avalanches. At the end of November 2018, knowledge about avalanche danger was included on the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage. BERG author Stephanie Geiger has taken a close look at what this means and how this knowledge is lived every day in one of the Alps' leading winter sports destinations.
The BergFokus section is dedicated to the hot topic of ice in the mountains. Although the once legendary north face of the Alps has long since melted, steep ice climbing has lost none of its appeal. Ice enthusiast Andi Dick knows this from personal experience and describes the fascination of ice climbing over time. In fact, ice climbing is now more popular than ever. If conditions are good, this may mean waiting in line at the entrances to the trendy ice falls and mixed couloirs. But how do you actually know that the conditions are correct? And when is the seductive ice candle wonder really stable and can climbers handle it? Mountain guide and geographer Paul Mair is looking for solid answers in a vulnerable terrain.

In addition, renowned scientists discuss the formation and disappearance of glaciers, about life in and under the ice and about what happens - from an ecological point of view - when the ice disappears. Robert Renzler speaks with the internationally known glacier researcher and climate researcher Georg Kaser about the dynamics of the melting process and global warming - and this in a very personal way: why has our generation, which was the first to recognize climate change, been so ' Have you made a major failure when it comes to taking the necessary measures? And what does it look like for us mountain climbers on our own doorstep?
The BergMenschense section brings extraordinary personalities to the stage, such as Laura Dahlmeier, the young Bavarian biathlon medalist and energy bundle Laura Dahlmeier, who is also an ambitious mountain climber and committed mountain rescuer. Or the farmer and neo-mountain farmer Kaspar Nickles, who moved to a small mountain village in Friuli to live a sustainable life with his family in a tradition interpreted in a contemporary way. One of the questions that BERG author Georg Hohenester asks himself at the Lokalaugenschein is whether he can give a future perspective to this endangered place.
In BergWissen, Patagonian specialist Dörte Pietron uses scientific data and her own experience to show how global warming has fundamentally changed the climate and thus also the mountain world in Patagonia. The book also discusses the decisive role of intuition in difficult situations or the twelve most important Alpine birds and how to recognize them.
With three stories by Robert Renzler, Nicholas Mailänder and Rudolf Alexander Mayr, BergKultur takes an unusual literary focus and looks at how mountain films shape the image of mountains and mountaineering and which story they prefer to tell today. An almost unbelievable but true story from the time of the Iron Curtain by Pit Schubert concludes the story: a moving example of civic courage and chutzpah - 30 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall and German reunification.
With these and many other topics, BERG offers an incomparable portfolio from the world of mountains and mountaineering - a must and a pleasure to read for anyone who cares about the mountains.

Tip:
more than 20,000 copies sold per year