Monte Rosa

Monte Rosa (Italian and German) or Mont Rose (French) is a huge ice-covered mountain of the Alps, located on the watershed between northern and southern Europe. Its main summit, named Dufourspitze in honor of the surveyor Guillaume-Henri Dufour, culminates at 4,634 metres (15,203 ft) above sea level and is followed by the three nearly equally high subsidiary summits of Nordend, Zumsteinspitze and Signalkuppe. Monte Rosa is the highest mountain of both Switzerland and the Pennine Alps and is also the second-highest mountain of the Alps and Europe outside the Caucasus. As a massif, Monte Rosa straddles the border between Switzerland and Italy, although its main summit, unlike the three lower ones, lies on the Swiss side, within the canton of Valais.

Along with the Lyskamm to the south, the west side of Monte Rosa, with its enormous ice slopes and seracs, forms the boundary and upper basin of the large Gorner Glacier, which descends towards Zermatt. On the east side, the mountain forms an almost vertical 2,400 metre-high wall of granite and ice, the biggest in Europe, overlooking Macugnaga.

Monte Rosa was studied by the pioneering geologist Horace-Bénédict de Saussure in the late eighteenth century. 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. The great east wall was first climbed in 1872, from Macugnaga.

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 or for the Margherita Hut on the Signalkuppe, used as a research station. Many tourists and hikers also come each year to the Gornergrat on the west side of the massif, to see the panorama that extends over the giants of the Alps, from Monte Rosa to the Matterhorn.

§Naming

Though Rosa as well as Rose mean "pink" in Italian and French respectively, the name is a false friend derived from the Franco-Provençal Aostan patois word rouése meaning "glacier". 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. From Zermatt the mountain was formerly known under the name Gornerhorn (in German, lit. Large mountain). 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. Nowadays, in German, Monte Rosa is used instead (Monte Rosa-Gletscher, Monte Rosa-Hütte, etc...).

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. The point east of the Dufourspitze, the Dunantspitze, was renamed in 2014 in honor of Henry Dunant, the main founder of the Red Cross.

§Elevation and climate

The Dufourspitze of Monte Rosa is the most elevated point of Valais and Switzerland, although it is not the most prominent of the country, that distinction belonging to the Finsteraarhorn, nor the most isolated, that distinction belonging to Piz Bernina. The Swiss national map gives an elevation of 4,634.0 metres (15,203.4 ft) for the summit, which is 4,441 metres above Lake Maggiore, Switzerland's lowest point. The height difference between the summit and the plains of northern Italy, from where Monte Rosa is well visible, reaches over 4,500 metres (15,000 ft). Monte Rosa has a topographic prominence of 2,165 m (7,103 ft), the Great St Bernard Pass being the lowest col between it and the culminating point of the Alps. 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 (15,207.5 ft) from the Italian side and 4,634.97 metres (15,206.6 ft) from the Swiss side, with a margin of error of 0.1 m. Monte Rosa succeeded the Finsteraarhorn as the highest summit of Switzerland in 1815, when Valais joined the Swiss Confederation.

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 extends to the Jura and further to the Vosges, the Swiss Plateau being mostly hidden by the high range of the Bernese Alps.

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 âˆ'40 °C (âˆ'40 °F). 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. The snow line is located at about 3,000 metres.

§Geographic setting and description

Monte Rosa straddles the border between the Swiss canton of Valais and the Italian region of Piedmont. The main summit or Dufourspitze of Monte Rosa, however, is wholly Swiss and lies within the territory of the municipality of Zermatt, about 13 km south-east of the town centre and 3,000 m above it. The closest settlements are located on the Italian side of the massif. Macugnaga is located 8 km north-east of the summit while the villages of Alagna Valsesia and Gressoney-La-Trinité are located respectively 10 km and 12 km away from the summit. The different sides of the mountain greatly differ from each other. The Swiss west side is almost completely covered by large glaciers, tributaries of the 57 km² large Gorner Glacier, descending progressively with gentle slopes and forming a large uninhabited glacial valley. The Italian east side consists of a 2,400 m high wall overlooking Macugnaga, whose snows feed the Belvedere Glacier at its base. The southeast face, culminating at the Signalkuppe, overlooks the Italian valley of Valsesia.

The mountain is mainly covered by eternal snows and glaciers, except for its summit which is a rocky ridge orientated westâ€"east, near to and perpendicular to the main watershed between Switzerland and Italy (Rhone 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 in the Alps whose summit is not on the main alpine watershed, although it is off by only 150 metres. The Silbersattel and Grenzsattel are the passes located north and south to the summit. The three main secondary summits of Monte Rosa are (from north to south): the Nordend (4,609 m; north of the Dufourspitze), the Zumsteinspitze (4,563 m; south of the Dufourspitze) and the Signalkuppe (4,554 m). Other secondary summits are the Parrotspitze (4,432 m), the Ludwigshöhe (4,341 m) and the Vincent Pyramid (4,215 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.

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.

§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. 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 120 m (390 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 Arpitan speaking 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 Pass 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:

"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."

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 Joseph Beck of Gressoney. He put together a party, including his brother Valentin, Sebastian Linty, Joseph Zumstein, Niklaus Vincent, François Castel and Etienne Lisco and they set out on a Sunday of August 1778. 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.

"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), probably a record in the Alps at that times.

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 1872. In 1789, following the recommendation of the Count, Horace-Bénédict de Saussure went to Macugnaga to explore the mountain. He climbed Pizzo Bianco, a 3215 m summit facing the mountain from the east and measured the altitude of Monte Rosa. He found a height of 2430 toises.

A first serious attempt was made in 1801 by a doctor of Alagna, Pietro Giordani. He reached alone a great height when climbing a 4,046 metres high point on the south-east ridge of the Vincent Pyramid, later named Giordanispétz or Punta Giordani in his honour. He arrived too late to proceed to the Vincent Pyramid summit 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.

The 4215 m Vincent Pyramid summit was eventually successfully climbed on 15 August 1819 by Johann Niklaus and Joseph Vincent from Gressoney, after whom the peak has been named. The brothers Vincent tried to reach the highest summit again the next year, together with Joseph Zumstein, and guides and porters. On August 1, 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.

§First ascents

The first approaches to the summit were made from the northern slopes over the Gorner glacier via the Silbersattel (4,510 m). This pass was first reached on August 12, 1847, by Matthias and Johann zum Taugwald (guides from Zermatt whose name is also written "Zumtaugwald"), Johann Brantschen and Joseph Moser guiding the French professors Victor Puisieux and Edouard Ordinaire. Precisely a year later (12 August 1848), Johann Madutz from Matt, Glarus, and Matthias Zumtaugwald guided the Swiss theologian de:Melchior Ulrich to the pass for an ascent of the highest summit. Ulrich had to give up, but the guides proceeded to climb to what they thought to be the Eastern summit of the Dufourspitze (Ostspitze, since 2014 Dunantspitze, 4632 m) and established a new altitude record in Switzerland. The descent over the same route was so tricky that Madutz at places had to lower down Zum Taugwald by rope. Three years later, on 22 August 1851, Johann Zumtaugwald returned, with Peter Taugwalder and Peter Inderbinen and the Swiss botanist brothers Adolf and Hermann Schlagintweit to repeat this ascent. They did not dare to traverse to the western summit, which the Schlagintweits estimated to be 7 meters higher. In 1891, W.A.B. Coolidge analyzed these ascents and concluded that both parties had reached the 4,618 m Grenzgipfel instead, which is a mere 50 meters to the east of Ostspitze. He transferred the honor of first climbing the Ostgipfel to Ulrich Lauener from Lauterbrunnen and the brothers Christopher, Edmund and James G. Smyth from Great Yarmouth, who reached the Ostspitze on September 1, 1854 from the Silbersattel. Some sources have the Zumtaugwald brothers also among this party. Zumtaugwald brothers returned twice more to the East summit, Johann and Matthias 10 days later (11 Sep 1854) with Edward Shirley Kennedy and Benedict Leir, and Matthias and Stephan later again with Edward Levi Ames. On these five occasions they never tried the difficult traverse to the western summit, also because the summits were both mapped as 4,638 m high at the time. Partially with the technical difficulty (UIAA III) of the route from Silbersattel in mind, many consider the Madutz and Zumtaugwald ascent in 1849 the true first ascent of Monta Rosa.

The first ascent of the western summit finally took place on August 1, 1855, by the above guides Matthias and Johann zum Taugwald and Ulrich Lauener and two of the Smyth brothers (James Greenville and Christopher). They were joined by the English gentlemen John Birkbeck, Charles Hudson and Edward Stephenson. Deeming the approach from the east summit unfeasible, the guides devised a route over the junction of the Monte Rosa and Grenz glaciers and over the west ridge directly to the west summit. Not two weeks later, on 13 August 1855, Johann and his brother Peter zum Taugwald guided eight more people, including Johann Jakob Weilenmann, to the summit over the same route. The west ridge route immediately became very popular and is still the normal route to the Dufourspitze.

The Irish physicist John Tyndall was guided to the summit in a group led by Ulrich Lauener in August 1858, but returned the next day (or week?) to make the first solo ascent of Dufourspitze on 17 August 1858, which he described in his account, Glaciers of the Alps.

"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 â€" 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 long snow couloir in the middle of the face could be ascended. 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.

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 Battista 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 Canalone Marinelli.

§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.

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.

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.

§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).
• First ascent by a woman - Lucy Walker July 15, 1862 with Frank Walker and guide Melchior Anderegg
• First ascent on the eastern wall, via the Marinelli Couloir in 1872 (July 22) by Taylor, Pendlebury and Ferdinand Imseng (guide)
• First ascent via the southern spur (Cresta Rey) by Eustace Hulton with guides Joseph Moser and Peter Rubi on 20 August 1874.
• 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.
• First winter ascent via the southern spur (Cresta Rey) by Vittorio Sella with guides Daniel Maquignaz and Joseph Maquignaz on 26 January 1884.
• First winter ascent via the southeast ridge by Mario Piacenza, A. Curta, A. Lazier, O. Lazier on 18 January 1907.
• First solo ascent of the east face by Angelo Taveggia in 1924.
• First winter ascent of the east face in 1965 (February 5â€"6) by mountain guides Luciano Bettineschi, Felice Jacchini, Michele Pala and Lino Pironi.
• In June 1969, the extreme skier Sylvain Saudan descended the entire Marinelli Couloir on the east face.
• 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.

§Panorama

§See also

• List of mountains of Valais
• High Alps

§Notes

§External links

• Dufourspitze on SummitPost.org
• Dufourspitze on Hikr.org
• 360-degree panorama from the summit
• Computer generated summit panoramas North South Index
• Peakbagger link