Monte Rosa

Monte Rosa is the highest mountain of Switzerland, the second highest both of the Alps and western Europe.^[1][2] Distinguished by the name Dufourspitze, its 4,634 m (15,203 ft) summit is the culminating point of the Pennine Alps. Although its main peak is located within Switzerland in the southeastern part of the canton of Valais, the Monte Rosa Massif is the second highest massif in Italy.

The Gorner Glacier descends in gentle slopes on the western side of Monte Rosa and flows towards Zermatt. On the east a 2,400 metre high wall towers above the village of Macugnaga.

Following a long series of attempts beginning in the early nineteenth century Monte Rosa's summit was first reached in 1855 from Zermatt by a party of eight climbers led by three guides.

Each summer a large number of climbers set out from the Monte Rosa Hut on the mountain's west side for the summit via the normal route. Many tourists come each year to Zermatt to see the panorama that extends over the giants of the Swiss Alps from Monte Rosa to the Matterhorn.

Naming

The name Monte Rosa comes from Italian, however rosa is derived from the Franco-Provençal dialect word rouese meaning "glacier".^[3] On old maps as late as 1740, the mountain was named Monte Bosa and even Monte Biosa by the inhabitants of Val Sesia. The name Mon Boso which appears in Leonardo da Vinci's notebooks very likely designated the same mountain.^[4] From Zermatt the mountain was formerly known under the name Gornerhorn (in German, lit. Large mountain).^[5] The name gorner is still used for the western ridge that is thrown out from the main mass (Gornergrat) and the glacier that lies at its foot (Gornergletscher) but not used for the mountain itself anymore.

The summit is distinguished by the name Dufourspitze (in German, lit. Dufour Peak; Italian: Punta Dufour, French: Pointe Dufour). This replaced the former name Höchste Spitze (in German, lit. Highest Peak) that was indicated on the Swiss maps before the Federal Council, on January 28, 1863, decided to rename the mountain in honor of Guillaume-Henri Dufour. Dufour was a Swiss engineer, topographer, co-founder of the Red Cross and army officer who led the Sonderbund campaign. This decision followed the completion of the Dufour Map, a series of military topographical maps created under the command of Dufour.

Elevation and climate

The Swiss national map gives an elevation of 4,633.9 m for the summit (2007)^[6] or 4,441 metres above Lake Maggiore, Switzerland's lowest point. A recent work (2000), involving universities and the offices of cartography of Italy and Switzerland, was made in order to record a more precise elevation for Monte Rosa. The result was 4,635.25 metres (15,208 ft) from the Italian side and 4,634.97 metres (15,207 ft) from the Swiss side, with a margin of error of 0.1 m.^[7]

Though the Mediterranean can hardly be visible from the summit of Monte Rosa because of intervening mountains, the view to the south extends to the Apennines, the mountains of Corsica and the Maritime Alps. On the north side the view is limited by the high range of the Bernese Alps.^[8]

Being the highest point in Switzerland, Monte Rosa is also one of the most extreme places. The average air pressure is about half of that of the sea level (56%) and the temperature can reach as low as −40 °C (−40 °F).^[9] Owing to the frequent prevalence of a high wind from the east or north-east, and the slow pace at which it is possible to move when near the top, precautions against cold are particularly requisite when climbing Monte Rosa.^[10] The snow line is located at about 3,000 metres.

Geographic setting and description

Monte Rosa lies in the municipality of Zermatt, on the south-eastern side of the Swiss canton of Valais. However the mountain lies a little closer to the village of Macugnaga, on the Italian eastern side (8 km) than to the village of Zermatt on the western side (12 km). Other inhabited regions close to the massif are the valleys of Alagna and Gressoney both on the Italian southern side. The west and north side greatly differs from the south and east side. The former is almost completely covered by large glaciers, tributaries of the 57 km² large Gorner Glacier, descending progressively with gentle slopes. Thus the valley is uninhabitated and Zermatt, the first settlement, lies far away from the summit. The latter is a nearly 2.5 km-high wall lying above Macugnaga.

The mountain is mainly covered by eternal snows and glaciers, except for its summit which is a rocky ridge orientated west–east, near to and perpendicular to the main watershed between Switzerland and Italy (Rhône River and Po River basins on the Swiss and Italian side respectively). The connecting point between them is the Grenzgipfel, the highest summit on the Italian side. Thus Monte Rosa is the highest mountain whose summit is not on the main alpine watershed. The Silbersattel and Grenzsattel are the passes located north and south to the summit. In addition several secondary summits are located close: the Nordend (4,609 m), the Zumsteinspitze (4,563 m) and the Signalkuppe (4,554 m).

Several perpendicular secondary ridges are connected to the main ridge dividing the glaciers that descend towards the Mattertal.The wall connecting the Signalkuppe with the Cima di Jazzi presents a wall of formidable precipices towards the east, but falls away in a gentle slope to the west. For a breadth of a few kilometres the upper snow-fields lie almost unbroken upon this slope, but as they begin to descend towards the main valley they are divided into two icestreams by a ridge which gradually emerges from the névé, and finally presents a rather bold front to the glaciers on either side. The highest points of this ridge, appearing insignificant by contrast with the grand objects around, is the Stockhorn and the Gornergrat. On its south side is the Gorner Glacier, formed by the confluence of all the minor glaciers descending from the north and west sides of the Monte Rosa range, while on the north side the Findel Glacier descends near to the hamlet of Findeln.^[11]

Monte Rosa is one of the high mountains surrounding the 40 km long Matter valley south of Visp. On the west are Lyskamm, Zwillinge, the Breithorn and the Matterhorn; on the north are the Weisshorn and the Dom. The Gornergrat summit, lying 8 km on the north-west at 3,100 metres, is a popular view point of the massif since it is accessible by train from Zermatt, using the highest open air railway line in Europe.

Because of the low elevation of the mountains to the south, the 2,165 m (7,103 ft) prominence of Monte Rosa is well visible from the plains of Lombardy.

Geology

The entire massif consists mainly of granite and granite gneiss (a metamorphic rock with foliations). The Monte Rosa Nappe lies below the Zermatt-Saas zone and is part of the Penninic nappes in the Briançonnais microcontinent zone, although its paleographic origin is controversial and is sometimes assigned to the Sub-Penninic nappes. Rocks in the paragneiss of the Monte Rosa Nappe record eclogite-facies metamorphism.^[12] The deformation of the Monte Rosa granites indicates a depth of subduction of about 60 km. They were brought to the surface by tectonic uplift, which still continues today.

The summit is a sharp, jagged edge of mica schist connected by an arête with the Nordend, but cut off from the Zumsteinspitze to the south by nearly vertical rocks about 400 ft. in height.

Trekking

The Tour of Monte Rosa can be effected by trekkers in about 10 days. The circuit follows many ancient trails that have linked the Swiss and Italian valleys for centuries. The circuit includes larch forests, alpine meadows, balcony trails and a glacial crossing. It connects seven valleys embracing different cultures: the German speaking high Valais, the originally French speaking and Italian Val d'Aosta and the valleys of Lombardy and Piedmont. Good conditions are necessary to circumnavigate the massif. After reaching St. Jacques by the Theodul Pass and the Col des Cimes Blanches, the trekker crosses the Bettaforca before arriving at Gressoney. Then two passes must be crossed on the road to Macugnaga, the Col d'Olen and the Colle del Turlo. From Macugnaga the trekker reaches the Saastal by the Monte Moro and goes around the Mischabelhörner before ending his journey in Zermatt. In total six passes between 2700 and 3300 metres must be crossed on a relatively difficult terrain.

History

Early exploration

Monte Rosa could be seen from many places on the south side of the Alps and it had been mentioned in many travel diaries. At the end of the 15th century some outlines of the mountain may possibly have been painted by Leonardo da Vinci into the background of the Madonna of the Rocks or other pictures. Da Vinci explored the Italian side of the mountain and made some observations, though there is but scanty evidence that he had climbed even a minor summit in the neighbourhood. He was intringued by the permanent snow lying on the mountain and the darkness of the sky above him, he wrote:^[13]

"The base of this mountain gives birth to the 4 rivers which flow in four different directions through the whole of Europe. And no mountain has its base at so great a height as this, which lifts itself above almost all the clouds; and snow seldom falls there, but only hail in the summer, when the clouds are highest. And this hail lies [unmelted] there, so that if it were not for the absorption of the rising and falling clouds, which does not happen more than twice in an age, an enormous mass of ice would be piled up there by the layers of hail, and in the middle of July I found it very considerable; and I saw the sky above me quite dark, and the sun as it fell on the mountain was far brighter here than in the plains below, because a smaller extent of atmosphere lay between the summit of the mountain and the sun."^[14]

At the end of the eighteenth century, the people of the Italian valleys believed that a lost valley existed, hidden away between the glaciers of the great chain. The discovery of the valley was due to Jean Joseph Beck of Gressoney. He collected a large party and they set out on a Sunday of August 1788. They started from their sleeping places at midnight, and roped carefully. They had furnished themselves with climbing irons and alpenstocks. At the head of the glacier, they encountered a slope of rock devoid of snow, which they climbed.^[15]

"It was twelve o'clock. Hardly had we got to the summit of the rock than we saw a grand-an amazing-spectacle. We sat down to contemplate at our leisure the lost valley, which seemed to us to be entirely covered with glaciers. We examined it carefully, but could not satisfy ourselves that it was the unknown valley, seeing that none of us had ever been in the Vallais."

The valley, in fact, was none other than the upper valley of Zermatt, and the pass, which these early explorers had reached, was the Lysjoch, where, to this day, the rock on which they rested bears the name that they gave it, the "Entdeckungsfels" (German: Rock of Discovery). Beck's party thus reached a height of 4,178 metres (13,707 ft), a record at that times.^[15]

Count Morozzo of Turin was inspired by the view of Monte Rosa and in 1787 he tried to reach its summit from the east face. However he did not go very high, and the mountain looked much too inaccessible to encourage him to proceed further. He reached the place of the actual Marinelli hut, 1,500 m below the summit. The route on the east face was opened only in 1873. In 1789, following the recommandation of the Count, Horace-Bénédict de Saussure went to Macugnaga to explore the mountain. He climbed the Pizzo Bianco, a summit facing the mountain and measured the altitude of Monte Rosa. He found a height of 2430 toises.^[13][16]

A first serious attempt was made in 1801 by a doctor of Alagna, Pietro Giordani. If he did not reach the summit, he reached alone a great height when successfully climbing a 4,046 metres high virgin summit, later named Punta Giordani in his honour. When climbing the peak, he had arrived too late on the summit to have time to proceed further and night drove him away. He had to sleep in a cleft of ice at about 14'000 feet. He wrote an account of his exploit: After an eloquent description of the view, he expresses his annoyance at the lack of scientific instruments, and the lateness of the hour which prevented him from ascending Monte Rosa itself.^[15]

Another attempt was made by Joseph Zumstein and party of two friends in 1820. They reached a 4,563 metres high secondary summit, later named Zumsteinspitze. The climb was dangerous, as the party had to traverse under threatening walls of ice; they also had great difficulties on descent, because the afternoon sun had melted the snow on the slopes. They used mules to carry their equipment as far as the snow-line. During the expedition they thought they had climbed the true highest peak, but when they reached the summit they found out it was only a subpeak of Monte Rosa. Zumstein was anxious to return later and reach the highest summit, but his desire did not materialize.^[15][17]

First ascents

The first approaches to the summit were made from the western slopes. The Silbersattel (4,510 m) was reached in 1847 by V. Puisieux, E. Ordinaire and guides J. Brantschen, J. Moser, M. and J. Zumtaugwald.^[17] On September 1854, the brothers Christopher, Edmund and James G. Smyth with guide Ulrich Lauener climbed via the Silbersattel to a 4,630 m high minor summit located 100 m east of the Dufourspitze, now called Ostspitze. The brothers Smith were convinced they had climbed the highest peak because at the time it was unclear where exactly was the highest point.^[17]

The first complete ascent was made from Zermatt on August 1, 1855 by John Birkbeck, Charles Hudson, Christopher Smyth, James Greenville Smyth, Edward Stephenson with the guides Matthäus Zumtaugwald and Johannes Zumtaugwald (from Zermatt) and Ulrich Lauener (from Lauterbrunnen). They followed the already opened route to the Ostspitze via the Silbersattel. On the summits, instead of turning back on the same way, they decided to continue on the unexplored western ridge and thus passed the true summit before going down to Zermatt. One of the climbers, Charles Hudson, would die 10 years later during the first ascent of the Matterhorn.^[17]

John Tyndall, the prominent physicist, was also an accomplished mountaineer, and made the first solo ascent in 1858, which he described in his account, Glaciers of the Alps. Tyndall had already summited Monte Rosa in a guided group one week before but he made an unplanned second summit solo on 17 August.^[17][18]

"After breakfast I poured what remained of my tea into a small glass bottle, an ordinary demi-bouteille in fact; the waiter then provided me with a ham sandwich, and, with my scrip thus frugally furnished, I thought the heights of Monte Rosa might be won..."

After encountering a party of climbers guided by Lauener, Tyndall reached alone the summit:

"A world of clouds and mountains lay beneath me. Switzerland, with its pomp of summits, was clear and grand; Italy was also grand, but more than half obscured. Dark cumulus and dark crag vied in savagery, while at other places white snows and white clouds held equal rivalry. The scooped valleys of Monte Rosa itself were magnificent, all gleaming in the bright sunlight — tossed and torn at intervals, and sending from their rents and walls the magical blue of the ice."

Among mountain guides, the eastern wall had the reputation of being unconquerable. Ferdinand Imseng was convinced that the central couloir, which would be named Marinelli couloir later, was feasible. He succeeded in convincing other climbers and, on 22 July 1872, Richard Pendlebury, William and Charles Taylor, Ferdinand Imseng, Gabriel Spechtenhauser and Giovanni Oberto began the ascent from Macugnaga. They were aware of the objective dangers of the wall but they decided to go as high as possible, without compromising their lives. After a bivouac on the actual Marinelli hut emplacement, they headed towards the Grenzsattel. Suddenly, when they arrived near the Grenzsattel, an avalanche started and rivers of snow began to flow everywhere around the climbers. They were able to reach the safe rocks of the Grenzgipfel just in time to save their lives. They finally reached the summit and descended to Riffelalp on the other side, concluding an 18-hour journey.^[17]

This ascent made Ferdinand Imseng a famous mountain guide. He lost his life in 1881 on the east wall during the third ascent with Damiano Marinelli and guide P. Pedranzini. On 8 August, they were caught by an avalanche and brought 1,200 metres down. The accident was reported by a porter who survived. The couloir was then named Marinelli."^[17]

Other ascents

In 1889 Achille Ratti, who became later Pope Pius XI, made the first traverse from Macugnaga to Zermatt by the Zumsteinjoch. After climbing the Dufourspitze, he spent the night on the summit with his companions.^[19]

Visiting Zermatt in 1894, the young Winston Churchill insisted on an ascent of Monte Rosa rather than of the Matterhorn, not only because of its superior height but also because the guides' fee was substantially less.^[20]

More recently, on August 1 (which happens to be the Swiss National Day), 2005, the Swiss Minister of Treasure Joseph Deiss climbed the Dufourspitze. The expedition marked the 150th anniversary of the first ascent.^[21]

Huts and climbing routes

The Monte Rosa Hut (2,883 m) is the only mountain hut in the massif owned by the Swiss Alpine Club. It is situated on the Plattje, a rocky island between the Gorner and Grenz glaciers. It is accessible from Rotenboden, a station on the Gornergratbahn line. The hut was inaugurated in 1894 and rebuilt in 1940. In 2009, a new high technology mountain hut was inaugurated. The five-story crystal-shaped building is designed to obtain 90 per cent of its power needs from the sun and will be used as a research station.

The other huts are owned by the Italian Alpine Club, among them the Regina Margherita Hut located at 4,559 metres on the Signalkuppe. Inaugurated in 1893 and replaced in 1979, it is still the highest construction in Europe, which include a laboratory and observatory.

Other huts owned by the Italian Alpine Club are the Marinelli Hut (3,036 m), used for the ascent of the east face, and the Bivacco Città di Gallarate (3,960 m), located near the summit of the Jägerhorn.

Normal route

The normal route to the summit start from the Monte Rosa Hut. The normal route is mainly a glacier itinerary on the west slopes of Monte Rosa (Monte Rosa Glacier), with the final rocky west ridge to the summit. Although the itinerary itself is not difficult, it requires physical endurance and a good acclimatization.

Marinelli couloir

The route starts from the Marinelli Hut and follows the steep Marinelli couloir on the east face. It is a long and dangerous route and has to be ascended very early in the morning on cold days in order to decrease the risk of avalanches.

Timeline

• First ascent in 1855 (normal route).^[22]
• First ascent on the eastern wall, via the Marinelli Couloir in 1872 (July 22) by Taylor, Pendlebury and Ferdinand Imseng (guide)^[23]
• First ascent via the southern spur (Cresta Rey) by Eustace Hulton with guides Joseph Moser and Peter Rubi on 20 August 1874.^[22]
• First ascent via the southeast ridge (today route from Margherita hut) by F. P. Barlow, G. W. Prothero with guides Antonio Carrel and Peter Taugwalder on 31 August 1874.^[22]
• First winter ascent via the southern spur (Cresta Rey) by Vittorio Sella with guides Daniel Maquignaz and Joseph Maquignaz on 26 January 1884.^[22]
• First winter ascent via the southeast ridge by Mario Piacenza, A. Curta, A. Lazier, O. Lazier on 18 January 1907.^[22]
• First solo ascent of the east face by Angelo Taveggia in 1924.^[22]
• First winter ascent of the east face in 1965 (February 5–6) by mountain guides Luciano Bettineschi, Felice Jacchini, Michele Pala and Lino Pironi.^[22]
• In June 1969, the extreme skier Sylvain Saudan descended the entire Marinelli Couloir on the east face.^[24]
• First solo winter ascent via the east face on February 4, 1991, by Walter Bernardi. Injured, he was rescued by helicopter on the descent near the Grenzsattel.^[22][25]
• First ascent by a woman - Lucy Walker July 15, 1862 with Frank Walker and guide Melchior Anderegg^[26]

Panorama

See also

• Monte Rosa tour
• Swiss Alpine Club
• List of mountains in Switzerland

Notes

External links

• Dufourspitze on SummitPost.org
• Computer generated summit panoramas North South Index
• Virtual climb of the Dufourspitze with 360 degree panoramas
• Monte Rosa with Dufourspitze
• Peakbagger link