Weisshorn in the context of "List of Alpine four-thousanders"

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⭐ Core Definition: Weisshorn

The Weisshorn (German, lit. white peak/mountain) is a major peak of Switzerland and the Alps, culminating at 4,505 metres (14,780 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 the Irish physicist 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.

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👉 Weisshorn in the context of List of Alpine four-thousanders

This list tabulates all of the 82 official mountain summits of 4,000 metres (13,123 ft) or more in height in the Alps, as defined by the International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (UIAA). They are the highest mountains of the Alps, all located in Switzerland (48), Italy (38), and France (25), and are often referred to by mountaineers as the Alpine four-thousanders. A further table of 46 subsidiary mountain points which did not meet the UIAA's selection criteria is also included.

The official UIAA list of 82 mountain summits, titled in English as 'The 4000ers of the Alps' was first published in 1994. They were selected primarily on a prominence of at least 30 metres (98 ft)) above the highest adjacent col or pass. Additional criteria were used to include or exclude some points, based on the mountain's overall morphology and mountaineering significance. (For example, the Grand Gendarme on the Weisshorn was excluded, despite meeting the prominence criterion as it was simply deemed part of that mountain's ridge.) A further 46 additional points of mountaineering significance, such as Pic Eccles, which did not meet the UIAA's primary selection criteria, were then included within an 'enlarged list'. Another, less formal, list of 4000 metre alpine mountains, containing only independent peaks with a prominence of over 100m, and based on an earlier 1990s publications by Richard Goedeke, contains just 51 mountains.

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Weisshorn in the context of Swiss Alps

The Alpine region of Switzerland, conventionally referred to as the Swiss Alps, represents a major natural feature of the country and is, along with the Swiss Plateau and the Swiss portion of the Jura Mountains, one of its three main physiographic regions. The Swiss Alps extend over both the Western Alps and the Eastern Alps, encompassing an area sometimes called Central Alps. While the northern ranges from the Bernese Alps to the Appenzell Alps are entirely in Switzerland, the southern ranges from the Mont Blanc massif to the Bernina massif are shared with other countries such as France, Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein.

The Swiss Alps comprise almost all the highest mountains of the Alps, such as Dufourspitze (4,634 m [15,203 ft]), the Dom (4,545 m [14,911 ft]), the Liskamm (4,527 m [14,852 ft]), the Weisshorn (4,506 m [14,783 ft]) and the Matterhorn (4,478 m [14,692 ft]). The other following major summits can be found in this list of mountains of Switzerland.

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Weisshorn in the context of Randa, Switzerland

Randa is a municipality in the district of Visp in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It is located between the Weisshorn and the Dom in the Matter Valley. The village is accessible by road and rail, and it has a campsite which offers a taxi service to Zermatt, a car-free town. The Glacier Express train line also connects Randa to Zermatt.

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Weisshorn in the context of Mattertal

The Matter Valley (German: Mattertal, or sometimes Nikolaital) is located in southwestern Switzerland, south of the Rhône valley in the canton of Valais. The village of Zermatt is the most important settlement of the valley, which is surrounded by many four-thousanders, including the Matterhorn.

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Weisshorn in the context of Weisshorn Hut

The Weisshorn Hut (German: Weisshornhütte) is a mountain hut of the Swiss Alpine Club, located above Randa in the canton of Valais. It is located on the southern slopes of the Weisshorn, at a height of 2,932 metres above sea level, near the bottom of the Schali Glacier.

A trail climbing to the Schali Glacier (3,100 m) connects the Weisshorn Hut to Randa. The hut is mainly used for the ascent of the Weisshorn via the eastern ridge.

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Weisshorn in the context of List of highest mountains of Switzerland

This is a list of the highest mountains of Switzerland. This list only includes summits above 3,600 metres (11,811 ft) with a topographic prominence of at least 30 metres. Note that this list includes many secondary summits that are typically not considered mountains (in the strict sense of the term) but that are mainly of climbing interest. For a list of major summits only, without elevation cut-off, see List of mountains of Switzerland.

The International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation defines a summit in the Alps as independent, if the connecting ridge between it and a higher summit drops at least 30 m (a prominence/drop of 30 m, with the lowest point referred to as the "key col"). There are over 350 such summits exceeding 3,600 m in Switzerland, all located in the High Alps, in five cantons: Valais, Bern, Graubünden, Uri, and Glarus. All mountain heights and prominences on the list are from the largest-scale maps available.

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