HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Dent Blanche is a
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 ...
in the
Pennine Alps The Pennine Alps (, , , ), sometimes referred to as the Valais Alps (which are just the Northern Swiss part of the Pennine Alps), are a mountain range in the western part of the Alps. They are located in Italy (the Aosta Valley and Piedmont) an ...
, lying in the canton of
Valais Valais ( , ; ), more formally, the Canton of Valais or Wallis, is one of the cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of thirteen districts and its capital and largest city is Sion, Switzer ...
in
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
. At -high, it is one of the highest peaks in the
Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...
.


Naming

The original name was probably ''Dent d'Hérens'', the current name of the nearby
Dent d'Hérens The Dent d'Hérens (4,173 m) is a mountain in the Pennine Alps, lying on the border between Italy and Switzerland. The mountain lies a few kilometres west of the Matterhorn. Notable summits along the east ridge are Punta Bianca (3917 m), th ...
which does not overlook the
Val d'Hérens Val d'Hérens is an Swiss Alps, alpine valley in the Valais canton of Switzerland. It was formed by the Hérens glacier, which retreated at the end of the last ice age. It is now the valley of the ''Borgne'' river, a tributary of the Rhone (conf ...
. The nearby north face of the Dent d'Hérens is glaciated while the Dent Blanche holds much less snow, it was even called ''Dent Noire'' (''Black Tooth'') on the Woerl Atlas of 1842. In fact on older maps, in the area where both summits lie, only the name ''Weisszahnhorn'' (from German: ''White Tooth Peak'') was given, the French name (''Dent Blanche'') only appearing in 1820. Because cartographers usually made their observations far from the mountainous remote areas and also because the Dent d'Hérens is sometime hidden behind the Dent Blanche thus less visible, the latter received the name. The inhabitants of the lower Val d'Hérens called the current Dent d'Hérens, ''Dent Blanche'', but the ones of the upper Val d'Hérens called the mountain, ''Dent de Rong'' or ''Dent d'Erins'', contributing to the general confusion. The contemporary names are official since the completion of the Dufour map in 1862.


Geography

The summit of Dent Blanche is an important geographic place as it is the converging point of three ridges. The three valleys separated by them are the
Val d'Hérens Val d'Hérens is an Swiss Alps, alpine valley in the Valais canton of Switzerland. It was formed by the Hérens glacier, which retreated at the end of the last ice age. It is now the valley of the ''Borgne'' river, a tributary of the Rhone (conf ...
,
Val d'Anniviers The Val d'Anniviers (old name in German ''Eifischtal'') is a Swiss Alps, Swiss Alpine Valleys of the Alps, valley, situated in the Sierre (district), district of Sierre in Valais, which extends south of the Rhône Valley, on the northern slopes of ...
and Mattertal. The respective villages of Evolène,
Zinal Zinal is a village in Switzerland, located in the municipality of Anniviers in the canton of Valais. It lies at an elevation of above sea level in the Swiss Alps in the ''Val de Zinal'', a valley running from the Zinal Glacier, north of Dent Blan ...
and
Zermatt Zermatt (, ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Visp (district), Visp in the German language, German-speaking section of the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It has a year-round population of about 5,800 and is cl ...
lie approximatively at the same distance of the mountain. The Dent Blanche has four steep faces rising over four glaciers: The north-east face (also called ''north face'') rises above the Grand Cornier Glacier (part of the Zinal Glacier), the south-east face rises above the Schönbiel Glacier (part of the Zmutt Glacier), the south-west face rises above the Manzettes Glacier (part of the Ferpècle Glacier) and, finally, the north-west face of Dent Blanche rises above the homonym glacier. The four ridges encompass almost exactly the four cardinal directions. The west ridge is named ''Arête de Ferpècle'' and the east ridge is named ''Arête des Quatre Ânes''. The ''Col de la Dent Blanche'' (3,531 m) lies at the foot of the northern ridge, the Bivouac de la Dent Blanche is located there. The Dent Blanche Hut lies at the foot of the southern ridge which is used as the normal route. The grade of the route is AD (III+). The region around Dent Blanche consists of many 4000 metres peaks. The Ober Gabelhorn (west),
Dent d'Hérens The Dent d'Hérens (4,173 m) is a mountain in the Pennine Alps, lying on the border between Italy and Switzerland. The mountain lies a few kilometres west of the Matterhorn. Notable summits along the east ridge are Punta Bianca (3917 m), th ...
and
Matterhorn The , ; ; ; or ; ; . is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the Main chain of the Alps, main watershed and border between Italy and Switzerland. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the Pennine Alps, ...
(south) are the closest high summits.


Climbing history

The first ascent was made via the south ridge (Wandfluegrat), which is the less difficult route to the summit and the actual normal route. On 12 July 1862, T. S. Kennedy, after an attempt on the east face of the unconquered
Matterhorn The , ; ; ; or ; ; . is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the Main chain of the Alps, main watershed and border between Italy and Switzerland. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the Pennine Alps, ...
, almost reached the summit with the guides
Peter Taugwalder Peter Taugwalder (4 April 1820 – 10 July 1888) was a Swiss people, Swiss mountaineer and mountain guide, guide. Along with his son of the same name, Taugwalder was one of seven men that made the first ascent of the Matterhorn in July 1865. He wa ...
and his son. But after a minor accident, Peter Taugwalder refused to go any higher. Kennedy would finally reach the summit only a few days later, on July 18, 1862 with W. Wigram, J. Croz and J. Konig, despite adverse weather conditions.Helmut Dumler,Willi P. Burkhardt, ''Les 4000 des Alpes'', A route on the east ridge was opened on 11 August 1882 by John Stafford Anderson and G. P. Baker, with guides Alois Pollinger of St. Niklaus in the canton Valais and Ulrich Almer. They started from the Mountet Hut and arrived at the summit after a difficult 12 hours climbing on a dangerous ridge overlooking the north face. Almer said on the summit, "We are four asses", and the ridge was then named ''Arête des Quatre Ânes'' or ''Viereselsgrat'' (''Ridge of the Four Asses''). The north ridge was explored in 1899. On 28 August O. G. Jones, F. W. Hill with guides E. Furrer, C. Zurbriggen and J. Vuignier headed to the summit but they fell and only Hill survived. He reached alone the summit and a storm forced him to make a bivouac. He could report the news of the fatal accident in Zermatt only two days later. The first ascent of the north north west ridge – described as "one of the last great problems" of the Pennine Alps – was by Dorothy Pilley Richards and I. A. Richards with Joseph Georges and Antoine Georges on 20 July 1928. Dorothy Pilley Richards later wrote up the ascent in her mountaineering memoir, ''Climbing Days'' (1935). The first ascent of the north face is attributed to K. Schneider and F. Singer on 26 and 27 August 1932. They climbed from the left part at the base of the face to the summit. Only on 12 July 1966, Michel and Yvette Vaucher made a direct ascent on the north face. The first winter ascent by the north ridge was completed by P. Crettaz and J. Gaudin on March 2, 1963. A solo winter ascent on the north face was made for the first time in 1968 by C. Bournissen.


See also

*
List of 4000 metre peaks of the Alps This list tabulates all of the 82 official mountain summits of or more in height in the Alps, as defined by the International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (UIAA). All are located within France, Italy or Switzerland, and are often refer ...


References


External links

* - photos
Dent Blanche on SummitpostDent Blanche on HikrDent Blanche on Evolene's official webcam
{{Authority control Alpine four-thousanders Mountains of Valais Mountains of the Alps Pennine Alps Mountains of Switzerland Four-thousanders of Switzerland