The Valais Alps, also "Pennine Alps", are the high mountain parts of the western Alps south of the Rhone and are mostly in the Swiss Canton Valais and to a lesser extent in Italy, the state border runs on the main ridge as the southern edge of the Valais Alps.
Regions
The Valais Alps consist of several mountain groups and individual mountains:
Subgroups are Combining group, Dent Blanche Group, Matterhorn group, Mischabel group (with the Allalin group), Monte Rosa, Weisshorn Group and Weissmies group.
The large and populated side valleys are located exclusively on the north side in Switzerland and run almost parallel to each other from south to north, sorted in the following order from west to east:
- Val d'Hérens (Eringer Valley)
- Val d'Anniviers (German Eifischtal)
- The system of the Vispertäler with the Mattertal, also Nikolaital and Saas Valley
For the division of the Swiss Alpine Club (SAC) into subgroups 1 - 6, see under Area leaders (in section literature).
places
Other goals
background
The region of the Valais Alps is the mountain ridge south of the Rhone in the Swiss part of the Western Alps, in the west the border is the Great Saint Bernard, in the south the Dora Baltea, the main river in the Aosta Valley, in the east the Simplon Pass and in the north the Rhone valley. Occasionally, regions east of the Simplon Pass are also included in the Valais Alps. The extension in the direction from west to east is around 90 kilometers, from north to south it is up to 45 kilometers in width.
With the Dufourspitze (4,634 m) in Monte Rosa massif the Valais Alps can have the second highest peak in the entire Alpine region, with the Matterhorn perhaps the most famous mountain in the whole world.
The name "Pennine Alps" comes from a local deity who was worshiped in the Great Saint Bernard region. In the Iron Age, the God penn a coin from the travelers as a sacrifice in the hope of a happy crossing of the passport.
geology
Geologically, the rocks of the Valais Alps are attributed to the "Penninic Nappe", which is the deposit area of the ancient sea of Tethys Mesozoic and in the younger Cenozoic.
The rocks that occur are Grisons slate (phylliths, granites, gneisses, slates, sandstones and quartzites), lime phyllites, ophiolites (converted basalts, gabbros and serpentinites).
Mining and mineral resources are rather rare, there are smaller deposits of gold than mineral (Simplon), molybdenum (in the Baltschiedertal) and also uranium ore, but mining is generally not profitable.
To the tectonic framework of the Valais Alps WikiWallis
language
The language border between German (Valais German, a dialect of the highest Alemannic) and French runs between Salgesch and Sierre, about a third of the inhabitants in the Valais Alps speak a German dialect.
On the Italian side in the Aosta Valley, Italian is spoken predominantly, but there are also some language islands with a German dialect, for example at Gressoney.
getting there
The large-scale arrival by road and from the north is possible from the north-east via the Rhone Valley, from the north-west via the route Lausanne - Montreaux - Martigny.
The extensive journey from the south / Italy is via the Aosta Valley.
mobility
It is not possible to cross the Valais Alps on routes from north to south or from east to west.
Tourist Attractions
activities
Long-distance hiking trails
- The Haute route is the classic area crossing of the Valais Alps on skis or on foot from Chamonix above Zermatt to Saas-Fee.
kitchen
climate
The climate of the Valais Alps ranges from the temperate zone of a mild and protected alpine valley, in the Rhone Valley wine is grown up to the extreme climate in the high alpine area over 2000 m altitude, the highest mountain peaks reach over 4600 meters altitude.
The Valais Alps are part of the inner-alpine dry area with low annual rainfall, the humid air masses of the low pressure areas from the west and the Atlantic already rain down on the slopes of the Bernese Alps, on the south side the clouds from the Mediterranean area accumulate on the southern flank of the Valais Alps.
The valleys in the Valais Alps are therefore among the driest areas in the entire Alpine region, with precipitation in some cases only around 600 mm per year and an above-average number of hours of sunshine. At the congestion areas on the south side of the region (Monte Rosa), precipitation amounts of up to 4000 mm per year are reached, at higher altitudes a large part of it falls as snow.
- Alpine weather service of the PES (for the entire Alpine region).
- The Avalanche warning services:
- For the Switzerland: Tel .: 0041-848-800-187;
- For the Trentino
- For the Aosta Valley
literature
- : Four thousand meter peaks in the Alps. Bergverlag Rother, 2007 (13th edition), ISBN 978-3763374274 ; 224 pages.
- ; Michael pause (Ed.): Valais, between glacier mountains and vineyards; Vol.6/2003. Mountains / magazine; 108 pages.
Area Leader
In the area guides of the SAC (Swiss Alpine Club) the Valais Alps are divided into regions with group numbers 1 to 6:
- : Alpine tours in Valais. SAC, ISBN 978-3859022041 ; 544 pages. approx. € 42. The club guide covers the common routes for the entire region of the Valais Alps (groups 1 to 6).
- ; SAC Swiss Alpine Club (Ed.): Valais Alps Volume 1 Trento - Great St. Bernard Alpine Guide. 1999, ISBN 978-3859021440 ; 736 pages. approx. € 46. The club guide deals in detail with the routes of region 1 in the difficulties and in the variants.
- ; SAC Swiss Alpine Club (Ed.): Valais Alps - Volume 2: From the Great St. Bernard to Col Collon. 1999, ISBN 978-3859021457 ; 736 pages. approx. € 46. The club guide covers the routes of region 2 in detail in the difficulties and in the variants.
- ; SAC Swiss Alpine Club (Ed.): Alpine tours - Matterhorn - Dent Blanche - Weisshorn - From Col Collon to Theodulpass. 2007 (4th edition), ISBN 978-3859022317 ; 628 pages. approx. € 46. The club guide covers the routes of region 3 in detail in the difficulties and in the variants.
- : Valais Alps Volume 4/5 - From Theodul Pass to Monte Moro (with Monte Rosa). SAC, 2009, ISBN 978-3859022904 ; 672 pages. approx. € 46. The club leader covers the routes of regions 4 and 5 in the difficulties and in the variants in detail.
- : Alpine tours - Simplon / Binntal / Nufenen - From the Monte Leone massif to the Blinnenhorn. SAC, 2011, ISBN 978-3859023192 ; 660 pages. approx. € 46. The club guide deals in detail with the routes of region 6 in the difficulties and in the variants.
Other area guides:
- : Valais Alps: Area guides for hikers, mountaineers, ski tourers, climbers. The most popular climbs to all important peaks with descriptions of all recommended ski tours. Bergverlag Rother, 2012 (14th edition), ISBN 978-3763324163 , P. 600. approx. € 22.90. In addition to the SAC guides, the standard work on the region.
- : Valais Alps. The big trekking tours: Tour Monte Rosa - Tour Matterhorn - Tour des Combins. With GPS data. Bergverlag Rother, 2012, ISBN 978-3763344277 ; 144 pages.
cards
- Matterhorn-Mischabel 1: 50,000 sheets 5006. National map of Switzerland, ISBN 9783302050065 . approx. € 21.50
Web links
- official Tourism portal for the Valais
