Weisshorn

The Weisshorn (German, lit. white peak/mountain) is a major peak of the Alps and Switzerland, culminating at 4,506 metres (14,783 feet) above sea level. It is part of the Pennine Alps and is located between the valleys of Anniviers and Zermatt in the canton of Valais. In the latter valley, the Weisshorn is one of the many 4000ers surrounding Zermatt, with Monte Rosa and the Matterhorn.

The Weisshorn was first climbed in 1861 from Randa by John Tyndall, accompanied by the guides J.J. Bennen and Ulrich Wenger. Nowadays, the Weisshorn Hut is used on the normal route. The Weisshorn is considered by many mountaineers to be the most beautiful mountain in the Alps and Switzerland for its pyramidal shape and pure white slopes.

In April and May 1991, two consecutive rockslides took place from a cliff above the town of Randa on the east side of the massif, below the Bis Glacier.

Geography

The Weisshorn is situated in the southern canton of Valais, about 25 km southwards from the Rhone between Sierre and Visp. It is the culminating point on the north-south orientated chain separating the Val d'Anniviers to the west and the Mattertal to the east and enclosing the Turtmanntal to the north, the tripoint between these valleys being located just north of its main summit. The Weisshorn faces the slightly higher Dom across the Mattertal, with the village of Randa 3100 metres below these two summits. After the Dom, the Weisshorn is the second-highest Alpine summit situated completely out the main chain and fully within Switzerland. On both sides of the Weisshorn range, the water end up in the Rhone, through the Navissence (west) and the Vispa (east). The Weisshorn and the Dom are only two of the many 4000-metre peaks surrounding the region of Zermatt, along with the Zinalrothorn, the Dent Blanche, the Dent d'Hérens, the Matterhorn and, second highest in the Alps, Monte Rosa.

Weisshorn (Bernese Alps)

The Weisshorn (or Wisshore) is a mountain of the Bernese Alps, located on the border between the Swiss cantons of Bern and Valais. It lies on the main chain of the Bernese Alps, between the Rawil Pass and the Plaine Morte Glacier.

A cable car (not accessible to public) connects the summit from Iffigenalp, south of Lenk in the canton of Bern. On the top lies a radar (FLORAKO) and an air traffic control building, owned by the Swiss Army. There are however no climbing restrictions and the summit can by reached via a marked trail from the Wildstrubel hut or from the Pointe de la Plaine Morte.

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Aroser Weisshorn

The Aroser Weisshorn is a mountain of the Plessur Alps, overlooking Arosa in the canton of Graubünden.

A two-stage cable car links the top of the mountain with the town and resort of Arosa — the base station is near to Arosa railway station.

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