The Wasenhorn (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

, it, Punta Terrarossa; ) is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

of the

Lepontine Alps , topo_map= Swiss Federal Office of Topography swisstopo , photo=MonteLeone0001.jpg , photo_caption=Monte Leone , country_type= Countries , country= , subdivision1_type= Cantons, Regions , subdivision1= , parent= Western Alps , borders_o ...

, located on the border between

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. It lies halfway between

Brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...

(Swiss canton of

Valais Valais ( , , ; frp, Valês; german: Wallis ), more formally the Canton of Valais,; german: Kanton Wallis; in other official Swiss languages outside Valais: it, (Canton) Vallese ; rm, (Chantun) Vallais. is one of the cantons of Switzerland, 26 ...

) and

Varzo Varzo is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about northwest of Verbania, on the border with Switzerland. As of 31 December 2004, it had a popula ...

(Italian region of

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

), just north of

Monte Leone Monte Leone is the highest mountain of the Lepontine Alps and is located on the border between Switzerland and Italy. The mountain stands on the extreme west of the Lepontine Alps, a few kilometres east of Simplon Pass. Etymology ''Leone'' i ...

, in the

Simplon Pass The Simplon Pass (french: Col du Simplon; german: Simplonpass; it, Passo del Sempione, Lombard: ''Pass del Sempiün'') () is a high mountain pass between the Pennine Alps and the Lepontine Alps in Switzerland. It connects Brig in the canton of ...

area. Politically the Wasenhorn is split between the municipalities of

Ried-Brig Ried-Brig is a municipality in the district of Brig in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. History Ried-Brig is first mentioned in 1232 as ''Riet''. In 1428 it was mentioned as ''ried de briga''. Until 1993 it was officially known as ''Ried be ...

and Varzo. The

Simplon Tunnel , it, Galleria del Sempione , line = Simplon line, (Lötschberg railway line) , location = Traversing the Lepontine Alps between Switzerland and Italy , coordinates = – , system = Swiss Federal Railways (SBB CFF FF ...

runs into the massif of the Wasenhorn, below the subsidiary summit named ''Tunnelspitz'' ().

Access road

Just follow to the road towards the Simplon pass, either from Brig on the Swiss side, or from Domodossola on the Italian side.

Climbing Route

The normal route to the summit of the Wasenhorn starts from the Monte Leone Hut of the

Swiss Alpine Club The Swiss Alpine Club (german: Schweizer Alpen-Club, french: Club Alpin Suisse, it, Club Alpino Svizzero, rm, Club Alpin Svizzer) is the largest mountaineering club in Switzerland. It was founded in 1863 in Olten and it is now composed of 111 s ...

(), located on the south side of the mountain, above the Chaltwasser Pass, which connects the Simplon Pass with the Alpe Veglia. To reach the hut from the Swiss side, there is a 2 hours 30 minute walk from the Simplon Hospiz which is at the Simplon pass road. From the hut to the summit takes a further one hour and thirty minutes. An alternative, more technically demanding route to the summit of the Wasenhorn begins at the Mäderlücke – a pass between the Mäderhorn (2850 m) and the Wasenhorn – and runs along the south-western ridge of the Wasenhorn, featuring climbing sections up to

UIAA grade In rock climbing, mountaineering, and other climbing disciplines, climbers give a grade to a climbing route or boulder problem, intended to describe concisely the difficulty and danger of climbing it. Different types of climbing (such as sport ...

II. By continuing on towards the Aurona pass the Bivacco Farello is reached - a typical Alpine refuge.

Other mountains around to climb

From the Simplon pass, climbers can reach other nearby mountains: *

Breithorn (Simplon) The Breithorn is a mountain of the Swiss Lepontine Alps, overlooking Simplon in the canton of Valais. It is part of the Monte Leone massif. Climbing route Breithorn is one of several peaks that can be climbed directly from the Simplon Pass ...

. * Hubschhorn. *

References

External links

Wasenhorn on Hikr

Wasenhorn - Punta Terrarosa: route description
on Mountains for Everybody Mountains of the Alps Alpine three-thousanders Mountains of Switzerland Mountains of Italy Italy–Switzerland border International mountains of Europe Mountains of Valais Lepontine Alps {{VerbanoCusioOssola-mountain-stub