Dom 4545 m Route archive
Dom is the highest mountain completely in Switzerland. This colossal pyramid consists of four flanks and four ridges, though only the N side and the Festigrat are really glaciated. To the east the broad flank falls steeply and compactly into the Fee glacier. Despite its amazing height and immense mass, Dom is not much of a sight from the Zermatt valley. To understand Dom's true immensity, the view from Saas-Fee is more revealing: it is clearly the highest mountain around; its Grand Gendarme clearly stands out, giving the mountain a mighty double summit. Dom always makes a big impression for those climbing the Nadelgrat, from where its even, glaciated north side makes it appear a stately and noble monarch.
The area around Dom is best accessed by the Längflue cable car. Both huts: the Domhütte and Mischabelhütte are high, though for such a high mountain still low enough. All climbs to Dom are taxing. After reaching the summit, the descent on the normal route to Randa "threatens" the weary with more than 3100 vertical metres of descent... During this, both the mind and the joints have ample time (~7 hours) to appreciate the true scale of this great chunk of rock.