Dom (mountain)

Dom
The north side of the Dom and the Mischabel massif
Highest point
Elevation4,546 m (14,915 ft)
Prominence1057 m ↓ Neues Weisstor[1]
Parent peakMonte Rosa
Isolation16.8 km → Nordend[2]
Listing
Coordinates46°05′42″N 7°51′36″E / 46.09500°N 7.86000°E / 46.09500; 7.86000
Geography
Dom is located in Switzerland
Dom
Dom
Location in Switzerland
Map
About OpenStreetMaps
Maps: terms of use
5km
3miles
Italy
none
Switzerland
Hörnlihütte hut
Hörnlihütte
Rifugio Jean-Antoine Carrel hut
Rifugio Jean-
Antoine Carrel
Rifugio Campanna Aosta hut
Rifugio Campanna
Aosta
La Singla
La Singla
Mont Brulé
Mont Brulé
Dents des Bouquetins (Bouquetins)
Dents des Bouquetins (Bouquetins)
Dent d'Hérens
Dent d'Hérens
Monte Rosa
Monte Rosa
Breithorn
Breithorn
Matterhorn
Matterhorn
Weisshornhütte
Matter Vispa
Lac de Moiry
Cabane
d'Arpitettaz
.
Dom location and nearby peaks and huts
Location in Switzerland
LocationValais, Switzerland
Parent rangePennine Alps
Topo mapSwisstopo 1328 Randa
Climbing
First ascent1858 by John Llewelyn Davies guided by Johann Zumtaugwald, Johann Krönig and Hieronymous Brantschen
Easiest routeNorth flank (PD)

The Dom is a mountain of the Pennine Alps, located between Randa and Saas-Fee in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. With a height of 4,546 m (14,915 ft), it is the seventh highest summit in the Alps, overall.[3] Based on prominence, it can be regarded as the third highest mountain in the Alps,[4] and the second highest in Switzerland, after Monte Rosa.[5] The Dom is the main summit of the Mischabel group (German: Mischabelhörner), which is the highest massif lying entirely in Switzerland.

The Dom is noteworthy for its 'normal route' of ascent having the greatest vertical height gain of all the alpine 4000 metre peaks, and none of that route's 3,100 metres of height can be achieved using mechanical means.[6]: 114 

Although Dom is a German cognate for 'dome', it can also mean 'cathedral' and the mountain is named after Canon Berchtold of Sitten cathedral, the first person to survey the vicinity.[7]

The former name Mischabel comes from an ancient German dialect term for pitchfork, as the highest peaks of the massif stand close to each other.

  1. ^ Retrieved from the Swisstopo topographic maps. The key col is the Neues Weisstor, between the Schwarzberghorn and the Cima di Jazzi, at 3,489 metres.
  2. ^ Retrieved from Google Earth. The nearest point of higher elevation is north of the Nordend.
  3. ^ "The 4000ers of the Alps: Official UIAA List" (PDF). UIAA-Bulletin (145). March 1994. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 March 2010.
  4. ^ based on a height difference of at least 300 metres above other points.
  5. ^ Without counting subsidiary summits of Mont Blanc and Monte Rosa.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Moran was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Dumler, Helmut; Burkhardt, Will P. (1994). The high mountains of the Alps. London/Seattle: Diadem. pp. 73–75. ISBN 0906371430.