The Alps are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, and stretch approximately 1,200 kilometres (750 mi) across eight Alpine countries : France, Switzerland, Monaco, Italy, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, and Slovenia. The Alpine arch generally extends from Nice on the western Mediterranean to Trieste on the Adriatic and Vienna at the beginning of the Pannonian basin. The mountains were formed over tens of millions of years as the African and Eurasian tectonic plates collided. Extreme shortening caused by the event resulted in marine sedimentary rocks rising by thrusting and folding into high mountain peaks such as Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn. Mont Blanc spans the French–Italian border, and at 4,809 m (15,778 ft) is the highest mountain in the Alps. The Alpine region area contains about a hundred peaks higher than 4,000 metres (13,000 ft).
The Alpine region of Switzerland, conventionally referred to as the Swiss Alps, represents a major natural feature of the country and is, along with the Swiss Plateau and the Swiss portion of the Jura Mountains, one of its three main physiographic regions. The Swiss Alps extend over both the Western Alps and the Eastern Alps, encompassing an area sometimes called Central Alps. While the northern ranges from the Bernese Alps to the Appenzell Alps are entirely in Switzerland, the southern ranges from the Mont Blanc massif to the Bernina massif are shared with other countries such as France, Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein.
Piz Bernina or Pizzo Bernina is the highest mountain in the Eastern Alps, the highest point of the Bernina Range, and the highest peak in the Rhaetian Alps. It rises 4,048.6 m and is located south of Pontresina and near the major Alpine resort of St. Moritz, in the Engadin valley with the massif partially in Italy. It is also the most easterly mountain higher than 4,000 m (13,000 ft) in the Alps, the highest point of the Swiss canton of Graubünden, and the fifth-most prominent peak in the Alps. The minor summit known as La Spedla is the highest point in the Italian Lombardy region.
Monte Rosa is a mountain massif located in the eastern part of the Pennine Alps. It is located between Italy and Switzerland (Valais). Monte Rosa is the second highest mountain in the Alps and western Europe, after Mont Blanc.
The Bernina Pass is a high mountain pass in the Bernina Range of the Alps, in the canton of Graubünden (Grisons) in eastern Switzerland. It connects the famous resort town of St. Moritz in the Engadin valley with the Italian-speaking Val Poschiavo, which ends in the Italian town of Tirano in Valtellina. The pass lies a few kilometres east of Piz Bernina, and south of Val Minor.
The Radstadt Tauern are a subrange of the Central Eastern Alps in Austria. Together with the Schladming Tauern, the Rottenmann and Wölz Tauern and the Seckau Tauern the Radstadt Tauern form the major range of mountains known as the Low Tauern. The mountains are found in the southeast of the Austrian state of Salzburg, between the upper reaches of the Enns and Mur rivers.
The Trient hut is a mountain hut in the Swiss alps, near the Swiss town of Martigny and the French town of Chamonix. The hut sits at an altitude of 3,170 m (10,400 ft), on a rock perched above the Trient Glacier. It can be reached on foot by mountaineers and strong hikers with experience of glacier travel. From the hut you can walk to the Albert Premier and Argentière huts in France, as well as the Cabane de Saleina (Switzerland) at the foot of the Aiguille d'Argentière. The hut is run by the SAC, the Swiss Alpine Club, and has 130 beds. It is a popular base for mountaineers exploring the area, e.g. Aiguille du Tour etc.
Mont Dolent is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif and lies on the border between Italy, Switzerland and France.
The Wildhorn is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the border between the Swiss cantons of Bern and Valais. At 3,248 metres (10,656 ft) above sea level, it is the highest summit of the Bernese Alps west of the Gemmi Pass. It forms a large glaciated massif, about 10 km wide, extending between the Sanetsch Pass and the Rawil Pass. Along with the Muverans, the Diablerets and the Wildstrubel, the Wildhorn is one the four distinct mountain massifs of the Bernese Alps that lie west of the Gemmi Pass. The massif of the Wildhorn is at the centre between the valleys of the Saane, Simme and the Rhone (Valais). It comprises several distinct summits, including the Arpelistock, Le Sérac, the Geltenhorn, the Sex Noir, the Sex Rouge, the Schnidehorn and the Six des Eaux Froides. The main crest is between the glaciers named Tungelgletscher and Glacier du Wildhorn. South of the main summit is the almost equally high summit of Mont Pucel. The Wildhorn is surrounded by several large mountain lakes: the Lac de Sénin, the Lauenensee, the Iffigsee, the Lac de Tseuzier and the Lac des Audannes. The Tungelgletscher, on the north-east face, was measured as 1.9 km in length in 1973.
The Rosablanche is a mountain of the Swiss Pennine Alps, overlooking the Lac des Dix in the canton of Valais. It lies on the range between the valleys of Bagnes (west) and Hérémence (east), north of Le Pleureur.
Val Ferret is the name of the two separate valleys, departing from the Col Ferret on the border between Italy and Switzerland, on the southern and eastern sides of the Mont Blanc Massif. The Swiss valley drains northeastwards towards Orsières and on into the Rhône basin; whereas the Italian valley drains southwestwards towards Courmayeur and on into the Po basin.
The Saleina Hut is a mountain hut in the Swiss Alps at 2,691 meters above sea level. It can be reached from the Val Ferret. The hut lies above the Saleina Glacier near the Aiguille d'Argentière in the Mont Blanc Massif, and has places for 48 people and is wardened between mid-June to mid-September.
The Cabane de l'A Neuve is a mountain hut in the Swiss Alps at 2,735 metres above sea level open for visitors. It can be reached from the Val Ferret. The hut lies below the Grand Darray on the south side in the Mont Blanc Massif. Other summits close to the hut are the Tour Noir, the Grande Lui and the Mont Dolent. Inauguration was 4 September 1927.
The Saleina Glacier is a 6 km (3.7 mi) long glacier (2002) situated on the north-eastern edge of the Mont Blanc Massif in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It flows in a roughly north-easterly direction from the Aiguille d'Argentière, down towards the Val Ferret. The Saleina Hut sits above its right bank at an altitude of 2,691 meters above sea level.
The Tracuit Hut is a mountain hut of the Swiss Alpine Club, located above Zinal in the canton of Valais. The hut lies at an elevation of 3,256 metres (10,682 ft) above sea level, at the Tracuit Pass, between Les Diablons and the Tête de Milon in the Pennine Alps.
The Valsorey Hut is a mountain hut of the Swiss Alpine Club, located south of Bourg-Saint-Pierre in the canton of Valais. The hut lies at a height of 3,030 metres above sea level, on the southwestern slopes of the Grand Combin in the Pennine Alps, facing Mont Vélan.
The Vignettes Hut is an alpine hut, located south of Arolla in the Swiss canton of Valais. It lies at a height of 3,160 metres above sea level, at the foot of the Pigne d'Arolla and near the Col de Chermotane in the Pennine Alps. All accesses to the hut involve glacier crossing.
The Lechquellen Mountains or Lechquellen range is a small mountain group within the Northern Limestone Alps of the Eastern Alps. It lies entirely within the Austrian state of Vorarlberg and includes the upper reaches of the river Lech with its headstreams in a horseshoe shape as well as the Upper Großwalsertal valley.
The Dent Blanche Hut is a mountain hut of the Swiss Alpine Club, located south of Les Haudères in the canton of Valais. The hut lies at a height of 3,507 metres above sea level, at the foot of the Dent Blanche in the Pennine Alps. The hut, located at the upper end of the valley of Hérens near the watershed with the valley of Zermatt, overlooks the Ferpècle Glacier.
The Col de Crête Sèche or Colle di Crête Sèche (Italian) is a mountain pass in the Alps, located between Switzerland and Italy. It lies at a height of 2,896 metres (9,501 ft) above sea level, between the massifs of Mont Gelé and Bec d'Epicoune, in the Pennine Alps. It connects Fionnay in the Swiss canton of Valais on its northern side to Bionaz in the Italian region of the Aosta Valley on its southern side. The Col de Crête Sèche is the second-lowest pass between the valleys of Bagnes and Valpelline, after the Fenêtre de Durand which lies about one hundred metres lower west of Mont Gelé.
