Ayas Pink Mountain

Monte Rosa is the majestic massif composed of numerous peaks that dominate the horizon north of the val d’Ayas, halfway between Italy and Switzerland.More than 4,600 meters high and counted among the Giants of the Alps, the Monte Rosa Massif is the second highest mountain in Italy and Europe, after Mont Blanc and the first highest in Switzerland.

There is a widespread belief that Mount Rosa is so named because of the enchanting pink hues that color the slopes of the mountain at sunrise and sunset.
In fact, the word “Pink” is derived from the terms rouja e rouése, which in the local language of Valle d’Aosta means. glacier, referring to its perpetually snow-capped peaks.

The conquest of Punta Dufour: the east face of Monte Rosa

The east face of Monte Rosa is the wall that houses the four highest peaks of the massif: Punta Gnifetti, Punta Zumstein, Punta Nordend and Punta Dufour.

At 4,634 meters above sea level, Punta Dufour is renowned for being the absolute highest peak in the entire Monte Rosa Massif, as well as the second highest peak in the entire Alpine range.

For many years, despite numerous attempts, Punta Dufour was never successfully conquered by anyone because it was too dangerous and complex to tackle safely.

July 22 of the year 1872 is remembered in history as the day when the British Charles Taylor and William Martin Pendlebury first reached the summit of Punta Dufour, thanks in part to the help of their mountain guide Giovanni Oberto.

The route they took to conquer the summit passed through the Macugnaga face, crossing the Marinelli gully.
A great feat for the time!

The East Face of Mount Rosa: “the wall of avalanches.”

On August 8, 1881, the east face of Monte Rosa was the scene of a terrible tragedy.
Three mountaineers, Damiano Marinelli, Ferdinand Imseng, and Battista Pedranzini, lost their lives while attempting to conquer the summit of Mt. overhung by an avalanche that powerfully killed them instantly.

There was, however, one survivor, Alessandro Corsi, who rushed to Macugnaga to raise the alarm, but he did not arrive in time and by then there was nothing that could be done to save his fellow climbers.This tragic event gave a new nickname to this impassable face of Monte Rosa, which has since been feared and remembered by many as the “wall of avalanches“.La Regina and the Regina Margherita Hut at the top of Punta Gnifetti

1893 was the year Queen Margaret of Savoy climbed Mount Rosa.
What occasion led the Queen to climb to the top of such a complicated mountain?
The inauguration of the highest observatory-hut in Europe!

The Regina Margherita Hut is a very famous refuge that is difficult to reach because it stands at 4,554 meters above sea level on the summit of Punta Gnifetti in the Monte Rosa Massif.
It represents the highest European alpine refuge on the entire continent and is among the highest fixed observatories in the world.

Queen Margaret went up there in the year of its inauguration, and the hut was named after her, to worthily honor the regent.