Karwendel, Schönstes Naturschutzgebiet der Kalkal pen. By Robert Löbl. Introductory trilingual text by Heinrich Kher. Innsbruck: Tiroler Graphik, 1956. 88 pages, 64 illustrations.

The Karwendel is a mountain area of Tyrol, comprising nearly 1000 square miles north of the Inn valley between Zirl and Jenbach. It extends to the Bavarian frontier and lies between the Achensee on the east and Scharnitz and Seefeld, on the Innsbruck-Partenkirchen line, on the west. As a climbing region it was largely the discovery of Hermann von Barth, whose book, "Aus den Nordlichen Kalkalpen" (1887), brought it to the attention of mountaineers. It is a region of alpland and limestone cliffs of great sheerness, such as the Laliderwand, and has retained its primeval character since it is not traversed by a driving road, the woodcutters’ settlement of Hinterriss being the only dwellings inhabited throughout the year. The Birkkarspitze (9040 feet) is the highest summit, and there are luxurious huts. A practical guide, with remarkable photographs, this book is in the same format as Kollreider’s "Ost-Tirol" previously reviewed in AAJ, 1951, 9: 1.

J. Monroe Thorington