Mont Avril, Mountain summit between Valais, Switzerland and Aosta Valley, Italy

Mont Avril is a 3,347-metre summit of the Pennine Alps on the Swiss-Italian border, in the Grand Combin-Monte Vélan chain, between the Aosta Valley and the Canton of Valais. Its northern Swiss side is steep and covered by the Mont Durand glacier, while the southern Italian side is gentler and glacier-free. The summit is a flat ridge that drops away on the north side.

On 26 September 1943 Luigi Einaudi, later President of the Italian Republic, crossed the Fenêtre de Durand pass (2,797 m) with his wife to escape fascism; a stele at the pass commemorates the crossing. The pass separates the Ollomont valley in Italy from the Bagnes valley in Switzerland and is the starting point of the trail to the summit.

The Fenêtre de Durand, the 2,797 m pass linking the Italian Ollomont valley to the Swiss Val de Bagnes, carries a stele commemorating Luigi Einaudi. On 26 September 1943, the future president of the Italian Republic crossed the pass with his wife to escape fascism. The pass is also the junction where the routes from Glacier di Ollomont and Mauvoisin meet before the summit trail.

Reaching the summit demands mountaineering experience and standard high-altitude climbing gear including rope and ice tools. Starting from the Mauvoisin area requires planning for a full day of climbing with significant elevation gain and exposed rock sections.

The summit trail leaves from the Fenêtre de Durand, a 2,797 m pass that also carries history: a stele there commemorates Luigi Einaudi, later President of the Italian Republic, who crossed with his wife on 26 September 1943 while fleeing fascism.