Vincent-Pyramide
The Vincent Pyramid is the last mountain of the Monte Rosa massif, so to speak. The first ascent had a surprising motive: the search for gold.
Height
4,215 m
First ascent
5 August 1819
First climbed by
Johann Nikolaus Vincent with the hunter Jacques Castel and two miners
Tips in the village
- Zermatlantis, the Matterhorn Museum: reliefs and photos
- Hotel Monte Rosa, guided tours
- Mountaineers’ cemetery
Tips for visitors
- Gornergrat, observation platform
Tips for hikers
- Hike on the Gornergrat: Rotenboden - Riffelberg
- Hike to the Monte Rosa hut (glacier trek, mountain guide necessary)
Vincent Pyramid: tips for mountaineers
- Mountain guide necessary
- Depending on fitness levels, suitable for single or multiple ascents in the Monte Rosa massif
- Multi-day trip
- Medium difficulty
The search for gold
The Vincent Pyramid is one of ten 4,000-metre peaks in the Monte Rosa massif. It stands to the south of the massif, entirely on Italian territory. Its first ascent was inspired not so much by sporting ambition as by a search for gold. This motive explains the illustrious team of climbers: Johann Nikolaus Vincent, mining engineer and owner of the Alagna gold mines, the hunter Jacques Castel and two miners. They reached the summit on 5 August 1819 via the south-east face. The most frequently climbed of all routes up the Monte Rosa massif leads from the Colle Vincent up the Vincent Pyramid. This route was first used in 1851 by the brothers Adolph and Hermann Schlagintweit and Peter Beck.
Origin of name
The peak, with its almost vertical face overlooking the Alanga valley, was named the Vincent Pyramid in honour of the first person to climb it, Johann Nikolaus Vincent.
The “last mountain”
The Vincent Pyramid rises dramatically to the south of the Colle Vincent (4,087 m). When seen from the Balmenhorn (4,167 m), the Vincent Pyramid looks like the “last mountain”, with an abyss beyond. This is almost correct, as Alagna (1,190 m) is just eight kilometres from the peak as the crow flies.