Dufourspitze (4,634 m) is the highest peak in Switzerland and the second highest peak in Alps. It is located between between Italy and Switzerland. Swiss Normal Route is very long and the summit ridge is airy and exposed. The best is to do this tour in 3 days with 2 nights stay in Monte Rosa hut.
Zermatt to Monte Rosa Hut: It's an easy but long walk from Zermatt to Rotenboden. It's possible to take the cog railway from Zermatt to Rotenboden. From Rotenboden you descend towards Gorner glacier. The final descent to the glacier has varied a lot in recent years and in 2020 the old path is officially closed. We took this path and it's still possible to use this route but it's not recommended. The path in the glacier is marked with red poles. Once the glacier is finished, you can follow the marked path till Monte Rosa hut. In total it takes around 3.5 hours from Rotenboden to Monte Rosa hut.
Monte Rosa Hut to Dufourspitze: From the Monte Rosa hut follow the cairned trailed through the moraine till the Monte Rosa glacier. This section is usually done in the dark but there are illuminated marks on the trail. Soon after the beginning, the glacier is full of crevasses. After the crevasse field, the glacier becomes steep. Soon you arrive at the bifurfaction where you can see the traces on the left to Nordend and Silversattel. After approx 30min - 1 hours, you arrive at an ice crack which is quite steep. Some people turned back at this point, as the steepness and icy parts were too difficult for them. After crossing this, you arrive at the saddle point on the ridge. From the saddle, you can enjoy the impressive views. From here follow the West ridge to the summit, sometime the ridge is very exposed and airy. There is a section that requires grade III difficulty, but there is fixed rope. Finally the summit is reached in ~6 hours.
Descent: You can continue a bit on the ridge further and you will see a point where you can rappel down (you need at least 50 m rope to rappel here). After descending the steep glacier, the path merges to the normal route.
Weather: here
