The Punta Leynir (Pointe du Leynir in

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

) is a 3,238 metres high

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 area, and is usually higher t ...

belonging to the Italian side of

Graian Alps The Graian Alps (Latin language, Latin:: ''Alpes Graiæ'' ; ; ) are a mountain range in the western part of the Alps, and the name of an Roman province, Antic Rome province. Etymology The name ''Graie'' comes from the ''Graioceli'' Celts, Celt ...

Toponymy

The name ''Leynir'' comes from the

Franco-Provençal Franco-Provençal (also Francoprovençal, Patois or Arpitan) is a Gallo-Romance languages, Gallo-Romance language that originated and is spoken in eastern France, western Switzerland, and northwestern Italy. Franco-Provençal has several di ...

for "black lake", referring to the color of a small lake located SE of the mountain. The name ''Punta del Leynir'' was adopted by the old maps of

IGM Immunoglobulin M (IgM) is the largest of several isotypes of antibodies (also known as immunoglobulin) that are produced by vertebrates. IgM is the first antibody to appear in the response to initial exposure to an antigen; causing it to also ...

. Giovanni Bobba and Luigi Vaccarone in their ''Guida delle Alpi Occidentali'' (''Guide book to Western Alps'') named the mountain ''Punta Vaudaletta'', while in the technical map of the autonomous region Aosta Valley its name is ''Pointe du Leynir''.

Geography

The mountain is located on the border between

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

and

Aosta Valley The Aosta Valley ( ; ; ; or ), officially the Autonomous Region of Aosta Valley, is a mountainous Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region in northwestern Italy. It is bordered by Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Fr ...

and its summit is the

tripoint A triple border, tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geography, geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or Administrative division, subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints ...

where the

Orco Valley The Orco Valley () is a valley in the Piedmont region of northern Italy located in the Graian Alps, in the territory of the Metropolitan City of Turin. The valley takes its name from the Orco river, which flows through the valley. The valley co ...

meets the Valsavarenche and the Rhêmes valleys, both tributaries of

Dora Baltea The Dora Baltea () or Doire Baltée () is a river in the Aosta Valley and in Piedmont, in northwestern Italy. It is a left-hand tributary of the Po and is about long. Name The river's Latin name was ''Duria maior'', ''Duria Baltica'' or ''Duri ...

. The Leynir Pass (3,084 m, NE of the summit) divides the mountain from the

Mont Tout Blanc The Mont Tout Blanc is a 3,438.2 metres high mountain belonging to the Italian side of Graian Alps. Toponymy ''Tout Blanc'' in French means ''totally white'', ''all-white''. The mountain is also known as ''Mont Taou Blanc'' or ''Mont Teu Blanc ...

, while the Orco/Valsavarenche ridge continues towards SW with Col Rosset (3,023 m) and Pointe Rosset (3,100 m). From the Punta Leynir originates the Orco/Rhêmes ridge, heading SE. After a saddle at 3,112 m it rises to the neighbouring Punta Bes (3,177 m) and then it goes down reaching the Nivolet Pass. The summit of Punta Leynir is flanked from SW by a subsummit, divided from the main summit by a 350-m stretch of ridge, not difficult to traverse. The mountain, due to its location, offers a very good view on the nearby

massif A massif () is a principal mountain mass, such as a compact portion of a mountain range, containing one or more summits (e.g. France's Massif Central). In mountaineering literature, ''massif'' is frequently used to denote the main mass of an ...

Gran Paradiso The Gran Paradiso () or Grand Paradis ( ) is a mountain in the Graian Alps in Italy, located between the Aosta Valley and Piedmont regions. It is located in Gran Paradiso National Park. Etymology The Italian toponym ''Gran Paradiso'' deriv ...

SOIUSA classification

According to

SOIUSA Alps by SOIUSA. SOIUSA (an acronym for - English: ''International Standardized Mountain Subdivision of the Alps-ISMSA'') is a classification system of the Alps from the geographic and toponomastic point of view. It was designed by Sergio Maraz ...

(''International Standardized Mountain Subdivision of the Alps'') the mountain can be classified in the following way: * main part =

Western Alps The Western Alps are the western part of the Alps, Alpine Range including the southeastern part of France (e.g. Savoie), the whole of Monaco, the northwestern part of Italy (i.e. Piedmont and the Aosta Valley) and the southwestern part of Switzer ...

* major sector = North Western Alps * section =

* subsection = Central Graian Alps * supergroup = Grande Sassière-Tsanteleina ridge * group = Galisia-Entrelor-Bioula *

code In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a communicati ...

= I/B-7.III-A.1

Access to the summit

The mountain can be accessed from the Nivolet Pass (2.641 m); this route requires a good

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

experience. Along with Punta Leynir some hikers also climb the nearby Punta Bes. For ski mountaineers, who also usually start from the Nivolet Pass, the level of difficulty is considered ''BS'' (''Good Skiers'').

Mountain huts

* Refuge ''città di Chivasso'' (2,604 m). * Rifugio Albergo Savoia (2,534 m).

Nature protection

Punta Leynir belongs to the

Gran Paradiso National Park Gran Paradiso National Park (; ) is an Italian national park in the Graian Alps, between the Aosta Valley and Piedmont regions. The park is named after Gran Paradiso mountain, which is located in the park; it is contiguous with the French Vanois ...

.Carta dei sentieri e dei rifugi scala 1:50.000 n. 3 ''Il Parco Nazionale del Gran Paradiso'',

Istituto Geografico Centrale The Istituto Geografico Centrale (IGC, in English ‘’Central Geographic Institute’’) is a privately owned Italian company based in Turin (Piedmont), known for its guide books and hiking maps mainly concerning the Western Alps and their cont ...

- Torino

Maps

Istituto Geografico Militare The ''Istituto Geografico Militare'' (IGM), or Military Geographic Institute, is an Italian public organization, dependent on the Italian Army general staff (''Stato Maggiore dell'Esercito''). It is the national mapping agency for Italy.

(IGM) official maps of Italy, 1:25.000 and 1:100.000 scale
on-line version
* Carta dei sentieri e dei rifugi scala 1:50.000 n. 3 ''Il Parco Nazionale del Gran Paradiso'',

- Torino

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leynir Leynir Leynir Leynir Mountains of the Graian Alps