The Zinalrothorn (4,221 m) 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 ...
in the
Pennine Alps
The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...
in
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 ...
. Its name comes from the village of
Zinal
Zinal is a village in Switzerland, located in the municipality of Anniviers in the canton of Valais. It lies at an elevation of above sea level in the Swiss Alps in the ''Val de Zinal'', a valley running from the Zinal Glacier, north of Dent Blan ...
lying on the north side and from the German word ''Rothorn'' which means ''Red Peak''. When it was first climbed in 1864 the mountain was known locally as ''Moming''.
Geography
The Zinalrothorn is one of the high summits separating the
Matter
In classical physics and general chemistry, matter is any substance that has mass and takes up space by having volume. All everyday objects that can be touched are ultimately composed of atoms, which are made up of interacting subatomic partic ...
valley on the east and the
Val d'Anniviers
The Val d'Anniviers (old name in German ''Eifischtal'') is a Swiss Alpine valley, situated in the district of Sierre in Valais, which extends south of the Rhône Valley, on the northern slopes of the Pennine Alps. The valley was home to six munic ...
(or more precisely the Val de Zinal) on the west. The summit of the
Weisshorn
The Weisshorn (German, lit. ''white peak/mountain'') is a major peak of Switzerland and the Alps, culminating at above sea level. It is part of the Pennine Alps and is located between the valleys of Anniviers and Zermatt in the canton of Valai ...
(4,505 m) is located 5 km to the north and the
Dent Blanche
The Dent Blanche is a mountain in the Pennine Alps, lying in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. At -high, it is one of the highest peaks in the Alps.
Naming
The original name was probably ''Dent d'Hérens'', the current name of the nearby D ...
7 km to the west. At the western foot of the mountain lies the large
Zinal Glacier
The Zinal Glacier (french: Glacier de Zinal) is a long glacier (2005) situated in the Pennine Alps in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. In 1973 it had an area of . The glacier gives birth to the river La Navisence, which runs through a cave. ...
and, on the northern side, the
Moming Glacier.
L'Epaule (the shoulder) is a minor summit lying at the base of the northern ridge.
The villages of
Täsch
Täsch is a municipality in the district of Visp in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It is located about north of Zermatt. The local language is Swiss German.
History
Täsch is first mentioned in 1302 as ''Tech''. In Latin it was known as ...
and
Zermatt
Zermatt () is a municipality in the district of Visp in the German-speaking section of the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It has a year-round population of about 5,800 and is classified as a town by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO).
...
are the closest while
Zinal
Zinal is a village in Switzerland, located in the municipality of Anniviers in the canton of Valais. It lies at an elevation of above sea level in the Swiss Alps in the ''Val de Zinal'', a valley running from the Zinal Glacier, north of Dent Blan ...
on the north-west is located further (9 km).
Climbing history
The first ascent was made on 22 August 1864 via the north ridge by
Leslie Stephen
Sir Leslie Stephen (28 November 1832 – 22 February 1904) was an English author, critic, historian, biographer, and mountaineer, and the father of Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell.
Life
Sir Leslie Stephen came from a distinguished intellectua ...
and
Florence Crauford Grove
Florence Crauford Grove (12 March 1838 – 17 August 1902) was an English mountaineer and author, sometimes known as F. Crauford Grove. He led the first expedition to ascend the higher summit of Mount Elbrus and was at one time president of t ...
with guides Jakob Anderegg and
Melchior Anderegg
Melchior Anderegg (28 March 1828 – 8 December 1914), from Zaun, Meiringen, was a Swiss mountain guide and the first ascensionist of many prominent mountains in the western Alps during the golden and silver ages of alpinism. His clients were mo ...
(AD). They left Zinal at 1 a.m. and ascended the Zinal Glacier. They reached the shoulder from the ridge connecting the
Blanc de Moming at the base of the northern ridge at 9 a.m. The traverse of the ridge to the summit took them 2 hours, Stephen wrote later that it was 'the nastiest piece of climbing I have ever accomplished'.
[Helmut Dumler,Willi P. Burkhardt, ''Les 4000 des Alpes'', ]
The slightly less difficult normal route, the south-east ridge, was first climbed by the combined parties of
Clinton Thomas Dent
Clinton Thomas Dent FRCS (7 December 1850 – 26 August 1912) was an English surgeon, author and mountaineer.
Early life
The fourth surviving son of Thomas Dent, he was educated at Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge.
Alpinism
Alongsi ...
with guide
Alexander Burgener
Alexander Burgener
Alexander Burgener (10 January 1845, Saas Fee – 8 July 1910, near the Berglihütte) was a Swiss mountain guide and the first ascentionist of many mountains and new routes in the western Alps during the silver age of alpinism ...
, and George Augustus Passingham, with guides Ferdinand Imseng and Franz Andermatten on 5 September 1872.
The first winter and ski ascent was by Marcel Kurz and T. Theytaz on 7 February 1914.
In the 1880s
Mrs Aubrey Le Blond, the first president of the
Ladies' Alpine Club
The Ladies' Alpine Club was founded in London in 1907 and was the first mountaineering club for women. It merged with the Alpine Club of Great Britain in 1975.
History
In December 1907 a group of ladies who were climbers in the Alps met in Lon ...
, left her detachable skirt by mistake up the Zinalrothorn. To preserve her modesty, she made the decision to climb the mountain a second time to retrieve it rather than return to Zermatt in trousers.
See also
*
List of 4000 metre peaks of the Alps
This list tabulates all of the 82 official mountain summits of or more in height in the Alps, as defined by the International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (UIAA). All are located within France, Italy or Switzerland, and are often refer ...
References
Bibliography
* Dumler, Helmut and Willi P. Burkhardt, ''The High Mountains of the Alps'', London: Diadem, 1994
* Collomb, Robin G., (ed.), ''Pennine Alps Central'', London: Alpine Club, 1975
External links
The Zinalrothorn on SummitPostThe Zinalrothorn on MountWikiThe Zinalrothorn on Hikr
{{Authority control
Alpine four-thousanders
Mountains of the Alps
Mountains of Valais
Pennine Alps
Mountains of Switzerland
Four-thousanders of Switzerland