Castor (mountain)
| Castor | ||
|---|---|---|
 View of the Castor just before the summit |
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| height | 4223 m above sea level M. | |
| location | Canton of Valais , Switzerland / Aosta Valley , Italy | |
| Mountains | Valais Alps | |
| Dominance | 1.77 km → Liskamm | |
| Notch height | 160 m ↓ Felikjoch | |
| Coordinates , ( CH ) | 45 ° 55 '15 " N , 7 ° 47' 36" O ( 627 518 / 85536 ) | |
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| First ascent | August 23, 1861 by FW Jacomb and William Mathews with guide Michel Croz | |
Castor , Italian Castore , is the higher of the two twins named high summit in the Valais Alps , directly southeast of the NNW similar looking but smaller Pollux . The Castor is 4223 m high. To the west, Pollux and Breithorn and to the east, Felikhorn, Liskamm and Monte Rosa join the series of four-thousanders . The twins Castor and Pollux are separated by the Zwillingsjoch (Italian Passo di Verra , 3845 m above sea level ). The Italian-Swiss border between the canton of Valais and the Aosta Valley runs between Pollux over the Castor to the Liskamm along the ridge with the exception of the Felikhorn (summit in Italy).
The naming of the twins as Castor and Pollux was based on the Dioscuri of Greek mythology , Castor and Pollux .
The first ascent took place on August 23, 1861 by FW Jacomb and William Mathews with the guide Michel Croz .
The ascent is usually from the Italian Capanna Quintino Sella over the Felikjoch and the long and narrow southeast ridge (normal route, WS) or (if you come from Switzerland ) from the Klein Matterhorn over the Grande Ghiacciaio di Verra and the western flank. For this purpose, a downward sloping crevice has to be crossed below the summit. However, the Castor can also be climbed from Zermatt via the Liskamm . However, this is a relatively dangerous route, as the foehn wind can lead to dangerous snow peaks, which can easily be confused with the Liskamm or Gornergrat . From Castor there is a fast but dangerous ski run over the twin glacier to Zermatt.
Castor (left) and Pollux
Castor ascent west flank
Castor west side from the Great Verragletscher
Castor north ridge seen from the summit
literature
- Helmut Dumler, Willi P. Burkhardt: The four-thousanders of the Alps. Completely reworked and re-illustrated edition. Bergverlag Rother, Munich 1989, ISBN 3-7633-7427-2 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Swiss Geoportal. In: geo.admin.ch. Retrieved August 30, 2016 .
Web links
- Castor at 4000m - the four-thousanders of the Alps
- Ski tour on Castor and Pollux