Monte Rosa Hut

The Gorner Glacier (German: Gornergletscher) is a valley glacier found on the west side of the Monte Rosa massif close to Zermatt in the canton of Valais, Switzerland. It is about 12.4 km (7.7 mi) long (2014) and 1 to 1.5 km (0.62 to 0.93 mi) wide. The entire glacial area of the glacier related to Gorner Glacier is 53 km2 (20 sq mi) (2007), which makes it the second largest glacial system in the Alps after the Aletsch Glacier system; however it ranks only third in length behind the Aletsch and Fiescher Glacier, respectively. Numerous smaller glaciers connect with the Gorner Glacier. Its (former) tributaries are (clockwise on this map): Gornergletscher (after which the whole system is named, but the upper part is now disconnected from the lower part), Monte Rosa Gletscher, Grenzgletscher (nowadays by far its main tributary, now disconnected from the actual Gornergletscher), Zwillingsgletscher, Schwärzegletscher, Breithorngletscher, Triftjigletscher, and Unterer Theodulgletscher (although the last three ones are actually disconnected now). The Grenzgletscher (English: Border Glacier) between the central Monte Rosa massif and the Liskamm to the south is nowadays by far the lower Gorner Glacier's main tributary. The Gorner Glacier's upper part is almost already disconnected from its lower part. Also the former tributaries Breithorngletscher, Triftjigletscher, and Unterer Theodulgletscher lost their connections to the Gorner Glacier during the last century; the Lower Theodul Glacier became disconnected in the 1980s. An interesting feature of this glacier is the Gornersee, an ice marginal lake at the confluence area of the Gorner- and Grenzgletscher. This lake fills every year and drains in summer, usually as a Glacial lake outburst flood. This is one of few glacial lakes in the Alps exhibiting this kind of behavior. There are also several interesting surface features including crevasses and "table top" forms where large surface boulders have been left stranded above the glaciers surface. These tabular rocks are supported by ice that the boulder has sheltered from melting that has effected the more exposed surrounding ice. Due to the immense information about the glacier, it is perfect for a glacier project. It is the source of the river Gornera, which flows down through Zermatt itself. However, most of its water is captured by a water catchment station of the Grande Dixence hydroelectric power plant. This water then ends up in the Lac des Dix, the main reservoir of Grande Dixence. The glacier as well as the surrounding mountains can be seen from the Gornergrat (3,100 m or 10,200 ft), connected from Zermatt by the Gornergrat Railway.

The Rote Nase (German for "Red Nose") is a mountain of the Swiss Pennine Alps, located east of the Gornergrat in Valais. The summit is 3,251 m (10,666 ft) above sea level. It is located to the Southeast of the town of Zermatt, and features several ungroomed ski runs leading down the mountain. The summit can be accessed using either a T-bar lift running up from lower down the mountain or a cable car running from Hohtälli.

The Western Lyskamm (German: Liskamm Westgipfel) is a subsidiary peak of the Lyskamm.

The Hohtälli is a mountain of the Swiss Pennine Alps, located southeast of Zermatt in the canton of Valais. It lies on the range that separates the Findel Glacier from the Gorner Glacier, between the Gornergrat and the Stockhorn. Its summit has an elevation of 3,275 metres (10,745 ft) and includes a cable car station. The Hohtälli is part of a ski area and features several ski runs leading down the mountain.

The Kölner Observatorium für SubMillimeter Astronomie (KOSMA) was a radio telescope for submillimeter astronomy located at 3,135 m (10,285 ft) on Gornergrat near Zermatt (Switzerland). It was operated by I. Physikalisches Institut, University of Cologne, and Radioastronomisches Institut, University of Bonn.The telescope had a primary diameter of 3 m (9.8 ft), and a secondary diameter of 0.27 metres (0.89 ft). It was equipped with heterodyne receivers covering 210 to 820 GHz, corresponding to wavelengths between 0.35 and 1.4 mm, for observations of lines from the interstellar medium.Because of the good climatic conditions at the altitude of 3135 m (10285 ft), astronomical observatories have been located in both towers of the Kulmhotel at Gornergrat since 1967. In 1985, the KOSMA telescope was installed in the southern tower by the Universität zu Köln and, in the course of 1995, replaced by a new dish and mount. In the northern tower, a 1.5 m infrared telescope was operated until 2005 by an Italian association of universities (TIRGO). In 2010, the telescope was moved to a site in Yangbajain in Damxung County in Tibet at an altitude of 4300m and renamed CCOSMA.

The Stockhorn (3,532 metres (11,588 ft)) is a mountain of the Swiss Pennine Alps, located to the southeast of the town of Zermatt. It lies on the range between the Findel and Gorner glaciers, east of the Gornergrat. The Stockhorn is part of the Zermatt ski area. A now-defunct cable car station at an altitude of 3,405 metres (11,171 ft) is located west of the summit; the original aerial tramway connecting the Gornergrat to the Stockhorn via Hohtälli was dismantled in 2007.

The Gornergrat (English: Gorner Ridge; 3,135 m (10,285 ft)) is a rocky ridge of the Pennine Alps, overlooking the Gorner Glacier south-east of Zermatt in Switzerland. It can be reached from Zermatt by the Gornergrat rack railway (GGB), the highest open-air railway in Europe. Between the Gornergrat railway station (3,090 m (10,140 ft)) and the summit is the Kulm Hotel (3,120 m (10,240 ft)). In the late 1960s two astronomical observatories were installed in the two towers of the Kulmhotel Gornergrat. The project “Stellarium Gornergrat” is hosted in the Gornergrat South Observatory.

The Gornergrat Kulm Hotel is a hotel and observatory located on the Gornergrat, at 3,120 metres above sea level. It can be reached from Zermatt via the Gornergrat railway, the terminus station being located 100 metres away. The hotel includes an observatory, two restaurants and a small shopping mall. A first hotel was built on the Gornergrat in 1896, two years before the completion of the Gornergrat rack railway. As the tourist traffic increased, the current larger hotel was built between 1897 and 1907. Given the clean air and good light conditions of the area, a dome was built on each of the two towers of the hotel in 1996. The KOSMA telescope was installed in the southern tower while the Gornergrat Infrared Telescope was installed in the northern tower.

The Telescopio InfraRosso del Gornergrat (TIRGO), or the Gornergrat Infrared Telescope, was located on the northern tower of the Kulm Hotel at Gornergrat (3,135 metres (10,285 ft) altitude) near Zermatt, Switzerland. It was a 1.5-metre (4.9 ft) Cassegrain telescope with a tip-tilt correcting secondary and optimized for infrared observations, but was decommissioned in March 2005. The telescope and related instrumentation were run by the Istituto di Radioastronomia (IRA - C.N.R.), sezione di Firenze (former CAISMI), with the assistance of the Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri and the Dipartimento di Astronomia e Scienza dello Spazio of the University of Florence.

Gornergrat is the upper terminal railway station of the Gornergrat railway, a rack railway which links it with the resort of Zermatt. The station is situated at the summit of the Gornergrat, in the Swiss municipality of Zermatt and canton of Valais. At an altitude of 3,089 m (10,135 ft) above mean sea level, it is the highest open-air railway station in Europe.Near the station is the Kulm Hotel, a hotel and observatory.

Pollux (Italian: Polluce) is a mountain in the Pennine Alps on the border between Valais, Switzerland and the Aosta Valley in Italy. It is the lower of a pair of twin peaks (German: Zwillinge), the other being Castor, named after the Gemini twins of Roman mythology. Pollux' peak is at an elevation of 4,089 m (13,415 ft). It is separated from Castor by a pass at 3,846 m (12,618 ft), named Passo di Verra in Italian, Col de Verra in French and Zwillingsjoch in German. The first ascent was by Jules Jacot from Geneva with guides Josef-Marie Perren and Peter Taugwalder (father) on August 1 (the Swiss national day) 1864. Their route was via the Schwarztor, a pass first crossed by John Ball and Gabriel Zumtaugwald in 1845. The impressive north ridge was first climbed by Captain John Percy Farrar (a future President of the Alpine Club) and Wylie Lloyd with guide Josef Pollinger of St. Niklaus in the canton Valais on 18 August 1893. Ascents are usually made from the Refuge Ottorino Mezzalama (3,036 m), the Monte Rosa hut (2,795 m); if traversing the peaks via Pollux's north ridge, PD+, the Refuge Quintino Sella au Félik (3,585 m), and the Rossi-Volante bivouac hut (3,850 m). The first winter and ski ascent of Pollux was by Dr Alfred von Martin and Karl Planck on 7 March 1913.

Castor (Italian: Castore) is a mountain in the Pennine Alps on the border between Valais, Switzerland and the Aosta Valley in Italy. It is the higher of a pair of twin peaks (German: Zwillinge), the other being Pollux, named after the Gemini twins of Roman mythology. Castor's peak is at an elevation of 4,225 m (13,862 ft), and it lies between Breithorn and the Monte Rosa. It is separated from Pollux by a pass at 3,847 m (12,621 ft), named Passo di Verra in Italian and Zwillingsjoch in German. Ascents are usually made from the alpine hut Capanna Quintino Sella on the Italian side, by means of the Felikjoch and the long and narrow southeast ridge. From the Swiss side, ascents start from Klein Matterhorn and go by way of the Italian glacier Grand Glacier of Verra and the mountain's west flank. The first ascent was made on August 23, 1861.