Wandfluhhorn, Alpine summit in Lepontine Alps, Switzerland.
The Wandfluhhorn, also called Pizzo Biela, is a 2,863-metre summit of the Lepontine Alps standing on the Swiss-Italian border. It is the highest point of the Bosco/Gurin valley, which it overlooks on the Swiss side, while its western slopes fall towards Formazza in Italy. The summit can be climbed from Bosco Gurin, in the Maggia valley.
The border between Switzerland and Italy runs along the summit ridge, separating Bosco/Gurin in the Maggia valley from Formazza in the Italian province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola. The mountain is the highest point of the Bosco/Gurin valley, reaching 2,863 metres, and its Italian name Pizzo Biela appears alongside the German Wandfluhhorn on maps of the Lepontine Alps.
The summit stands on the language border between Bosco/Gurin, the only German-speaking municipality in Ticino, and the Italian-speaking Formazza valley. The Walser settled Bosco/Gurin in the 13th century, and their dialect and timber houses survive in the village below the eastern flank. The Italian name Pizzo Bièla is used on the Formazza side.
The summit is reachable via several hiking trails that are best traveled in summer months when snow and ice have melted. Good mountain boots and Alpine experience are needed since some routes are steep and exposed in places.
The summit marks the highest point of the Bosco/Gurin valley, the German-speaking enclave in Ticino, and stands on the watershed between the Maggia and Formazza valleys. From Bosco Gurin the route to the top climbs the Swiss eastern flank; the Italian side drops toward Formazza.
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