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Dufourspitze

4,634 m

Italy, Switzerland

Also known as Дюфур, Monte Rosa, +5

Дюфур · Monte Rosa · Pico Dufour · Pointe Dufour · Punta Dufour · დიუფურის პიკი · Пик Дюфур

Elevation
4,634 m
Prominence
2,165 m
Difficulty
6/10
Alpine climb
Best Season
Jul
Routes
2

  • Hut closedReported 14 Sep 2026 · until 18 Mar 2027

    Monte Rosa Hut closed for the season and its official approach closed. The upper approach (Panoramaweg) is no longer passable: markings and the stair have been removed. The lower 'Alter Weg' is still marked; winter-room users must use it. 2027 seasons announced: ski touring 18 March–17 May, summer 18 June–18 September.

    monterosahuette.ch

  • AdvisoryReported 16 Jul 2026

    In the hot summer of 2026 some guides reported many open crevasses on the Monte Rosa glacier routes and higher than usual rockfall; check current conditions with the hut before going.

Routes

2
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AlpineAD-Sources differ: AD (Camptocamp (PD if stopping at the Sattel/ski depot)) · PD+ (myswissalps.com report)UIAAIIIGlacierNormal route

Sources differ: AD (Camptocamp (PD if stopping at the Sattel/ski depot)) · PD+ (myswissalps.com report)

The Swiss normal route: a long crevassed glacier climb of 1,750 m from the Monte Rosa Hut to the Sattel (about 4,360 m), then a 270 m exposed mixed ridge with UIAA II–III rock steps to Switzerland's highest point. Physically the crux; plan 6–8 hours up from the hut and a big day overall.

Elevation Profile

approximate line
2,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0000 km2.557.510RotenbodenMonte Rosa HütteSattel
Distance
12.0 km
one way
Ascent
+2,280 m
−463 m lost on the way up
High Point
4,634 m
Time Up
10h 02m
DIN 33466
Time Down
7h 37m
DIN 33466 · same way back

Day one: take the Gornergrat railway from Zermatt to Rotenboden (2,815 m) and walk the blue-and-white marked alpine path (T4) to the Monte Rosa Hut (2,883 m), crossing the Gorner glacier on a route marked with poles; crampons are needed on the ice and the hut gives 4–4.5 hours. The upper 'Panoramaweg' and the lower 'Alter Weg' change with the glacier from year to year; check the hut website for the current line. Day two: leave the hut around 2:00. Moraine and slabs lead to the Obere Plattje, then a 100 m slope at 35–40° onto the Monte Rosa glacier, which is badly crevassed around 3,300–3,600 m and must be climbed roped. Keep right of the seracs (the Scholle) and up the snow bowls to the flat area at about 4,000–4,100 m, where the Nordend route branches off left. Head south up the broad Satteltole to the Sattel (about 4,360 m); the bergschrund below it can be awkward late in the season. The west ridge above has four sections: a snow slope, a rock/mixed step (II–III), a steep snow or ice slope past the 4,499 m shoulder, and a final rock section with an exposed chimney (about 3b/III, often with a fixed rope) to the summit cross. The rock is polished by crampons, which makes the line easy to follow. Descend the same way, or abseil to the Silbersattel (six 15–20 m abseils from bolts, about 60 m east of the summit) and return by the glacier. The return to Rotenboden involves about 300 m of reascent: check the last train.

Start

Rotenboden2,815 m

  • Gornergrat railway Zermatt–Rotenboden
  • Train to Zermatt (via Visp, or shuttle train from Täsch), then the Gornergrat railway to Rotenboden.

Stages

DayStagekmm ascentm descentTime
1Rotenboden → Monte Rosa Hütte6.55044393h 22m
2Monte Rosa Hütte → Dufourspitze5.51,776236h 40m

Waypoints

  1. Station:
    Rotenboden2,815 m
  2. Hut:
    Monte Rosa Hütte2,880 m
  3. Feature:
    Monte Rosa Gletscher3,251 m

    Crevassed section; rope up

  4. Col:
    Sattel4,516 m

    Saddle at the foot of the west ridge; usual ski depot in spring

  5. Summit:
    Dufourspitze4,634 m

Key Passages

  • Gorner glacier crossing on the hut approach
  • 35–40° slope above the Obere Plattje
  • Crevasse zone on the Monte Rosa glacier around 3,300–3,600 m
  • Bergschrund below the Sattel
  • Rock steps on the west ridge (II–III)
  • Summit chimney (about III, sometimes fixed rope)

Equipment

0/13 packed
Technical
Glacier
Safety
Footwear
Clothing
Navigation
Hut & Camping

Downloads

Route confidence 75%
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Overview

The 4,634 m main summit of Monte Rosa, the highest point of Switzerland and the second-highest summit in the Alps. The normal route is a long, crevassed glacier climb from the Monte Rosa Hut finished by an exposed mixed ridge with UIAA II–III steps.

The Dufourspitze is the highest of the summits strung along the Monte Rosa massif, the broad ice-capped wall between the Mattertal above Zermatt and the Italian valleys of Gressoney, Alagna and Macugnaga. The summit lies just inside Switzerland; the Swiss–Italian border crosses the Grenzgipfel 80 m to the east. Its east face above Macugnaga is one of the biggest walls in the Alps, while the Swiss side is a long glacier staircase rising nearly 1,800 m from the Monte Rosa Hut.

The Swiss normal route over the Monte Rosa glacier and the west ridge is graded AD- by the SAC and the hut, and is mostly a test of stamina and altitude: 1,750 m of ascent from the hut, with a crevasse maze around 3,300–3,600 m and a final 270 m of exposed rock and snow ridge. From Italy, the lift to Punta Indren and a night at the Gnifetti or Margherita hut make the Dufourspitze reachable by the Zumsteinspitze and the SE ridge with far less height gain, which is why many guided parties combine it with a traverse of the other Monte Rosa summits.

Expect cold, windy conditions on the ridge even in summer, and difficult orientation on the glacier in cloud. Glacier retreat keeps changing the approaches: the Monte Rosa Hut path across the Gorner glacier is rerouted most years, and in hot summers guides have reported unusually open crevasses and more rockfall.

Climbing Notes

You need good glacier skills (roped travel, crevasse rescue), confident cramponing on 35–40° snow and ice, and the ability to move steadily on exposed UIAA II–III rock in crampons. Fitness is the main requirement: from the Monte Rosa Hut the summit day is typically 10–14 hours with 1,750 m of ascent and the same in descent, plus the walk back to Rotenboden with about 300 m of reascent.

Acclimatise first with two or three nights above 3,000 m and easier 4,000 m peaks such as the Breithorn, Pollux or the Italian Monte Rosa summits (Pyramide Vincent, Signalkuppe). Many parties go with an IFMGA guide, typically one or two clients per guide. Typical itinerary from Switzerland: Gornergrat railway to Rotenboden, 4–4.5 hours to the Monte Rosa Hut, a 2:00 start, summit and back to the hut, then out to Zermatt the next morning. From Italy: lift to Punta Indren, night at the Gnifetti or Mantova hut, ideally a second night at the Capanna Margherita (4,554 m), then the Dufourspitze over the Zumsteinspitze and back over the Signalkuppe. Book huts early; check the hut websites for the current glacier approach.

History

Several attempts in the first half of the 19th century reached the lower eastern tops of Monte Rosa. On 1 August 1855 a party led by the guides Johannes and Matthäus Zumtaugwald and Ulrich Lauener, with Charles Hudson, John Birkbeck, Christopher and James Grenville Smyth and Edward Stevenson, reached the highest summit by the west ridge, still the normal route. The peak, then called the Höchste Spitze, was renamed in 1863 after General Guillaume-Henri Dufour, whose survey produced the first accurate map of Switzerland. The east face from Macugnaga was first climbed on 22 July 1872 by Ferdinand Imseng, Giovanni Oberto, Gabriel Spechtenhauser, Richard and William Pendlebury and Charles Taylor, and the first winter ascent was made on 26 January 1884 by Vittorio Sella with the Maquignaz guides and Battista Aymonod. In 2014 the 4,632 m subsidiary top just east of the summit was renamed Dunantspitze after the Red Cross founder Henry Dunant.

Season

Best Jul
  1. January: Not advisable
  2. February: Not advisable
  3. March: Possible
  4. April: Good
  5. May: Possible
  6. June: Good
  7. July: Best (best window)
  8. August: Good
  9. September: Good
  10. October: Not advisable
  11. November: Not advisable
  12. December: Not advisable
Jan
Winter; Monte Rosa Hut unstaffed (12-place winter room)
Feb
Winter conditions
Mar
Ski-touring season starts mid/late March when the Monte Rosa Hut reopens
Apr
Classic ski-mountaineering month; ski to the Sattel, ridge on foot
May
Ski season ends mid-May; hut closed until mid-June
Jun
Huts reopen mid/late June; good snow cover on the glacier
Jul
Main season
Aug
Busy; crevasses open up and rockfall increases in heat waves
Sep
Huts close mid-September; often stable but icy, with open crevasses
Oct
Huts closed; early winter conditions
Nov
Winter conditions
Dec
Winter conditions

Access & Permits

Hut Booking
Monte Rosa Hut: online via hut-reservation.org (linked from monterosahuette.ch) or +41 27 967 21 15; reservations for 2027 open at the end of October 2026. Italian huts (Gnifetti, Mantova, Margherita): booking.rifugimonterosa.it or +39 348 1415490.
Fees
  • Monte Rosa Hut (2026 rates, half board): CHF 92 for alpine-club members, CHF 116 for non-members; cancellation free until 18:00 two days before, later CHF 55, no-show CHF 92
  • Monte Rosa Hut winter room: CHF 38 per night, online booking
  • Capanna Gnifetti (2026, CAI members): €105 half board; non-members pay a surcharge
  • Capanna Regina Margherita (2026, CAI members): €150 half board; non-members pay a surcharge
  • Gornergrat railway (Zermatt–Rotenboden) or Monterosa Ski lift tickets to Punta Indren
Rules
  • Camping is prohibited around the Monte Rosa Hut
  • Sleeping-bag liner compulsory at the Monte Rosa Hut and the Monterosa (Italian) huts
  • Monte Rosa Hut: no self-catering facilities; self-caterers pay a CHF 20 infrastructure fee; tap water is not drinkable
  • Capanna Margherita: reservation mandatory in summer; no dogs
  • Zermatt is car-free: park in Täsch and take the shuttle train
Getting There

Zermatt (Switzerland); Gressoney-La-Trinité or Alagna Valsesia (Italy)

Geneva (GVA) or Zurich (ZRH) for Zermatt; Milan Malpensa (MXP) or Turin (TRN) for the Italian side

  • Zermatt: train via Visp; by car park in Täsch and take the shuttle train
  • Gornergrat railway from Zermatt to Rotenboden (2,815 m), then 4–4.5 hours on foot to the Monte Rosa Hut
  • Italy: bus from Pont-Saint-Martin to Gressoney/Staffal, or from Varallo to Alagna; Monterosa Ski lifts to Passo dei Salati and the Punta Indren cable car (summer season from 30 May in 2026)

Hazards

  • Glacier
  • Crevasses
  • Altitude
  • Exposure
  • Weather
  • Rockfall

Huts & Shelters

4