Dufourspitze is the highest peak in the Alps east of the Rhine, reaching 4,634 metres in Switzerland.
Dufourspitze is the highest summit of Monte Rosa, a large massif in the Pennine Alps on the Switzerland–Italy border. The summit itself lies in Switzerland, while other high points of the massif extend toward Italy. It is Switzerland’s highest mountain and the second-highest peak in the Alps after Mont Blanc.
The name honours Guillaume-Henri Dufour, a Swiss general, engineer and cartographer. The mountain was formerly known by names associated with Monte Rosa, and the surrounding massif still commonly carries that name.
The first ascent was made in 1855 by a British-led party including Charles Hudson, John Birkbeck, Christopher Smyth, James G. Smyth and guides. Dufourspitze is sometimes mistaken for Dom, which is the highest mountain lying entirely within Switzerland.