Signalkuppe / Punta Gnifetti

4,554 m

German for 'signal dome' — named for the trigonometric signal placed on its summit during the Italian and Swiss surveys of the 1860s. The Italian name Punta Gnifetti commemorates Giovanni Gnifetti, the priest of Alagna who made the first ascent in 1842.

Card

Coordinates45.9269° N · 7.8767° E

UIAA rank№ 06 / 82

CountriesSwitzerland · Italy

Normal gradeF · facile

First ascent1842 · Giovanni Gnifetti with Giordano brothers, C. Ferraris, C. Grober & J. Farinetti

Typical seasonJuly to September

Photo of Signalkuppe / Punta Gnifetti — Photo: Karl Haarmann at German Wikipedia (Original text: de:Benutzer:Karl Haarmann) · CC BY-SA 3.0

Site of Capanna Margherita, the highest building in Europe.

History

Climbed in 1842 by the parish priest of Alagna, Giovanni Gnifetti — after whom the standard refuge below the peak is named — together with a party of locals. The Signalkuppe carries the Capanna Regina Margherita on its summit at 4554 m, the highest building in Europe: a stone-built SAC hut opened in 1893 by Queen Margherita of Italy in person, who walked up from Alagna to inaugurate it. It has functioned ever since as both a refuge and a high-altitude physiology laboratory.

Location

Summit · huts that serve as bases for routes on this peak

Major routes

Italian normal (via Capanna Gnifetti)

F · facileTopo ↗

Vertical / summit day1,900 m gain · 4h 30m

The simplest route to a 4554 m summit in the Alps. The Punta Indren cable car (Alagna) deposits climbers on the glacier; an easy snow plod via the Rifugio Gnifetti and Colle del Lys leads to the Signalkuppe, where the Capanna Regina Margherita sits on the summit and can be slept in.

Sections

Punta Indren (3275 m)→Rifugio Gnifetti (3647 m)+372 m1h 30m

Rifugio Gnifetti→Colle del Lys (4248 m)+600 m3h

Colle del Lys→Signalkuppe (4554 m)+306 m1h 30m

Huts on this route

Capanna Regina Margherita4,554 m

Featured in tours

Spaghetti Tour4-7 daysPD+

Nearby huts

Neue Monte Rosa HütteSAC · late February to October2,795 m Capanna Regina MargheritaCAI · late June to mid-September4,554 m Rifugio Capanna GnifettiCAI · late June to mid-September3,647 m Rifugio Città di MantovaCAI · late June to mid-September3,498 m Rifugio Giovanni GnifettiCAI · mid-March to late September3,647 m Bivacco Luigi ResegottiCAI · unstaffed (year-round access)3,624 m

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