Monte Emilius () (3,559 m) is a mountain of the Graian Alps in Aosta Valley, north-western Italy. Located just above the town of Aosta, from where it is visible looking southwards behind the lower Becca di Nona, it is usually climbed starting from the ski resort of Pila, at a height of 1,870 m.
History
This mountain was formerly known as
Pic de dix heures, meaning "10 a.m. peak" in
french language, as the sun stands right on top of it at 10am, or even as
Pic Chamosser or
Pic Chamoisier. In 1839 the priest Georges Carrel (later prior of the Collegiate church of Saint Ursus) climbed the peak with a 14-year-old girl named Émilie Argentier, the daughter of the mountaineer and doctor Auguste Argentier (1830-1874) from
Cogne, in order to promote mountaineering. The peak was thus named after her. Aostan canons thought about naming it
Pic Pie in honour of Pope Pius IX, but decided against it as
Pie in
french language also means
Eurasian magpie.
Ascent
A marked path from Pila usually takes one to the summit, past various lakes, with a bit of scrambling involved. The view from the top includes famous peaks such as
Mont Blanc,
Monte Rosa, the
Matterhorn and
Grand Combin
