The Monte Rosa massif on the Italian-Swiss border has a slew of 4,000-meter peaks, some of which are accessible to anybody in decent shape with no particular hiking skills. At the top of the list of the accessible destinations is the Gnifetti Peak (4,559 meters) – home to the Margherita mountain refuge, the highest building in Europe. I hiked up to the Margherita twice in the summer of 2004 (and lived to write about it ) and on another trek that same year I reached the Castor peak, a bit less high than Gnifetti and a bit more skill needed to get there.