The Weissmies 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 Pennine Alps (german: Walliser Alpen, french: Alpes valaisannes, it, Alpi Pennine, la, Alpes Poeninae), also known as the Valais Alps, are a mountain range in the western part of the Alps. They are located in Switzerland (Valais) and Italy ( ...

in the 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 ...

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 ...

near the village of

Saas-Fee Saas-Fee () is the main village in the Saastal, or the Saas Valley, and is a municipality in the district of Visp in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. The village is situated on a high mountain plateau at 1,800 meters (5,900 feet), surrounded ...

. It is the easternmost four-thousander of its range.

Geography

The Weissmies is located on the main Alpine chain, on a massif separating the

Saastal The Saastal or the Saas Valley is an alpine valley in the district of Visp, in the eastern part of the Canton of Valais, Switzerland. It is the valley of the river Saaser Vispa. It is separated from the Mattertal to the west by the Mischabel ...

valley on the west and Simplon valley on the east. The massif consists of two other main summits lying to the north at almost the same altitude, the

Lagginhorn The Lagginhorn (4,010 m) is a mountain in the Pennine Alps in Switzerland. It lies a few kilometres north of the slightly higher Weissmies and also close to the slightly lower Fletschhorn on the north. The Lagginhorn is the last four-thous ...

and

Fletschhorn The Fletschhorn (3,985 m) is a mountain of the Pennine Alps, located between the Saas Valley and the Simplon Valley, in the canton of Valais. It lies in the Weissmies group, north of the Lagginhorn The Lagginhorn (4,010 m) is a mountain i ...

. The mountain lies between the Lagginjoch (3,500 m) to the north and the

Zwischbergen Pass The Zwischbergen Pass (el. 3268 m.) (german: Zwischbergenpass) is a high mountain pass across the eastern Pennine Alps, connecting Saas Almagell and Zwischbergen in the canton of Valais Valais ( , , ; frp, Valês; german: Wallis ), more f ...

(3,260 m) to the south. The Weissmies is one of the 10 four-thousanders surrounding the

, facing the

Dom Dom or DOM may refer to: People and fictional characters * Dom (given name), including fictional characters * Dom (surname) * Dom La Nena (born 1989), stage name of Brazilian-born cellist, singer and songwriter Dominique Pinto * Dom people, an et ...

on the west, the third highest summit of the

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 ...

Climbing

It was first climbed by Jakob Christian Häusser and Peter Josef Zurbriggen in 1855 via the Triftgrat. The ascent was mired in some controversy as the local guides did not believe that the peak could be ascended without their help; when they themselves ascended to the summit by following Häusser and Zurbriggen's footprints, they found that the highest point had indeed been reached. The east face was climbed first by J. A. Peebles, Mr E. P. Jackson and

Margaret Jackson Margaret Jackson, AC (born 17 March 1953) is an Australian corporate executive. Jackson was born in Warragul, Victoria, and studied at Warragul High School. She graduated with a Bachelor of Economics degree from Monash University and a Master o ...

with guides P. Schlegel, U. Rubi and J. Martin on 17 October 1876. The more difficult south face was climbed in 1884 by C. H. Wilson, A. Burgener, J. Furrer. Two weeks later, W. H. and E. Paine with T. Andenmatten and P. Zurbriggen opened a route on the northern ridge.Helmut Dumler,Willi P. Burkhardt, ''Les 4000 des Alpes'', The approach to the Trift Glacier/south-west ridge (Triftgrat) route can now be made via lift to

Hohsaas Hohsaas () is a cable car station and a ski area in the Pennine Alps above Saas Grund in Valais. Although Hohsaas is not a mountain summit it still offers impressive views over the Dom on the Mischabel range and 18 four-thousand meters mounta ...

(3,100 m), which is located virtually at the edge of the

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its Ablation#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often Century, centuries. It acquires dis ...

. The ascent from Hohsaas takes about 4 hours and involves slopes to 40 degrees and

crevasses A crevasse is a deep crack, that forms in a glacier or ice sheet that can be a few inches across to over 40 feet. Crevasses form as a result of the movement and resulting stress associated with the shear stress generated when two semi-rigid pie ...

. Another route starts from the

(above Almageller Hut) at the foot of the southern ridge.

References

Bibliography

* Dumler, Helmut and Willi P. Burkhardt, ''The High Mountains of the Alps'', London: Diadem, 1994

External links

The Weissmies on Distantpeak.com

description of route to Weissmies from the Almageller Hut
{{Authority control Alpine four-thousanders Mountains of the Alps Mountains of Valais Pennine Alps Mountains of Switzerland Four-thousanders of Switzerland

Geography

Climbing

See also

References

Bibliography

External links