Corno Bussola, Mountain summit in Aosta Valley, Italy

Corno Bussola is a 3,023 m peak in the Pennine Alps, on the ridge between the Mascognaz valley and the Palasinaz basin, in the comuni of Ayas and Brusson. A tall metal summit cross stands on the top. Just below the mountain lie the Palasinaz Lakes, and the ridge connects to the Corno Vitello via the Palasinaz Pass at 2,688 m.

The sources record no founding event or first ascent for Corno Bussola; its documented history is one of naming and surveying. The Valdôtain name Boussolaz has no link to the compass (bussola), and its final z is a scribal flourish once used in Piedmont-Sardinia registers to mark stress on the penultimate syllable. The peak is classified in the SOIUSA system as I/B-9.III-B.5.a, in the Costiera della Testa Grigia group of the Monte Rosa Alps.

The name comes from the Valdôtain patois Mont de Boussolaz: the final z is silent and the stress falls on the second syllable (bussòla), so it has nothing to do with the Italian word for compass. The peak is climbed from Rifugio Arp (2,446 m) past the Palasinaz lakes and Colletto Bussola (2,805 m), a route rated EE, for experienced hikers.

The route begins from a mountain hut in the area and follows marked trails that pass by alpine lakes along the way. The ascent is steep and demanding, requiring a good level of fitness and some experience with high mountain terrain.

The name Bussola has nothing to do with a compass: in Valdôtain patois it is pronounced bussòla, stress on the second syllable, and the final -z of the French form Boussolaz is a mute scribal flourish once added by Piedmont-Sardinia registrars to mark that stress. The summit cross is metallic and tall, and from it the Breithorn, Castor, Pollux, Liskamm, Dufourspitze, Matterhorn and Corno Bianco are visible, with Monviso, Gran Paradiso, Mont Blanc and Grand Combin farther off.