Dufourspitze

Dufourspitze
French: Pointe Dufour, Italian: Punta Dufour
From the peak to the south-east towards Italy, the Dunantspitze in back hides the 18 metres lower Grenzgipfel (English: Border Summit)
Highest point
Elevation	4,634 m (15,203 ft)
Prominence	2,165 m (7,103 ft)  ↓ Great St Bernard Pass Ranked 7th in the Alps
Isolation	78.3 km (48.7 mi)  → M Blanc de Courmayeur
Listing	Country high point Canton high point Ultra Seven Second Summits
Coordinates	45°56′12.6″N 7°52′01.4″E / 45.936833°N 7.867056°E / 45.936833; 7.867056Coordinates: 45°56′12.6″N 7°52′01.4″E / 45.936833°N 7.867056°E / 45.936833; 7.867056
Naming
Native name	Dufourspitze, Höchste Spitze, Gornerhorn
Translation	Peak Dufour, Highest Peak, Large Horn
Geography
Dufourspitze Location in Switzerland
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Valais
Parent range	Pennine Alps
Topo map	Swisstopo 1348 Zermatt
Climbing
First ascent	1 August 1855 by Matthäus and Johannes Zumtaugwald, Ulrich Lauener, Christopher and James Smyth, Charles Hudson, John Birkbeck and Edward Stephenson.
Easiest route	rock/snow/ice climb

The Dufourspitze is the highest peak of Monte Rosa, a huge ice-covered mountain massif in the Alps. Dufourspitze is the highest mountain peak of both Switzerland and the Pennine Alps and is also the second-highest mountain of the Alps and Europe outside the Caucasus. It is located between Switzerland (Canton of Valais) and Italy (Piedmont and Aosta Valley).

Following a long series of attempts beginning in the early nineteenth century, Monte Rosa's summit, then still called Höchste Spitze (English: Highest Peak), was first reached on 1 August, the Swiss National celebration day, in 1855 from Zermatt by a party of eight climbers led by three guides: Matthäus and Johannes Zumtaugwald, Ulrich Lauener, Christopher and James Smyth, Charles Hudson, John Birkbeck and Edward Stephenson.

The peak is distinguished by the name Dufourspitze (in German, lit. Dufour Peak; French: Pointe Dufour, Italian: Punta Dufour). This replaced the former name Höchste Spitze (English: 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 general 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.