Highest mountain summit in Western Europe accessible without climbing gear?

Question

I'm trying to find out which is the highest summit in Western Europe that can be reached by a fit hiker without the need for real climbing gear. (Crampons and/or a safety rope to cross ice/snow fields are ok, but not needing ice-axes, rock-anchors, etc.)

EDIT: Via Ferrata are also out of the question.
To further clarify: I have a medical condition affecting my hands that doesn't affect hiking at all, but prevents me from doing activities that are strenuous on the hands. Like actual climbing or serious rope-work.
end EDIT.

A multi-day hike to get from civilization to the summit is fine.

If there is an easier way to the top than hiking (e.g. a gondola-lift to close under the summit and just walk the last bit) that would be fine. (I'm not set on hiking. It's just that I don't want climbing.)
But I would like to exclude being dropped on the top by a helicopter. That feels too much like cheating.

I'm OK with summits that can only be visited with a guide or require permits for ascend.

I, for the purpose of this question, define Western Europe as Europe, but not including Turkey, Russia, Belarus and the Ukraine. Iceland and the Norwegian islands in the Arctic Sea can be considered as Europa too, but I'm NOT including the Spanish and Portuguese islands in the Atlantic (like the Canary Islands and the Azores). If I did, I'm fairly certain the Teide volcano on Tenerife (3718 meter) would be a prime contender.

So, how high can I get and were do I need to go for that?

Answer 1

If you consider regular hiking only (without glacier crossings), one contender would be Rocciamelone at 3,538 m.

Warning: although the hike itself is not particularly dangerous, weather can be deadly any time of year at this height, in particular if you do not bring proper clothing. Don't go here in poor weather and bring warm clothes no matter how nice the weather looks.

Unlike higher options, you do not need to cross any glaciers. It's a regular hike and it's not even particularly difficult, mostly T2 with at worst some sections of T3. It's just a long way up and you might notice the reduced oxygen levels up there, so take your time. There are cabins on the way up where you can sleep and there's a small primitive shelter at the summit as well, so you can be safe on the summit if the weather turns bad (or even sleep there if you bring some sleeping and cooking gear, but I'm not sure if it's normally allowed to plan to sleep there; it wasn't when I was there, but I don't know if that was regular or due to corona). You can also drive a bit of the way up, but it remains a long hike even from the highest point one can drive (and I think parking is limited). There are no cable-cars and there is no summit restaurant, so crowds remain reasonable.

I think highest including "easy mountaineering" is hard to define, because easy is subjective, but Rocciamelone might be one of the highest without any mountaineering.

It would be an understatement to say that the sunrise is most definitely worth it. Just can just-about-but-not-quite see the summit of the Mont Blanc:

Rocciamelone sunrise. With Les Bans, Mont Pelvoux, Pic Coolidge, Barre des Écrins, Grande Ruine, La Meije with Pic Gaspard and Doigt de Dieu, 2021-09-17.

Rocciamelone sunrise with frozen Maria, 2021-09-17.

Rocciamelone sunrise with Massif du Mont Blanc and Grandes Jorasses, Grand Combin, Gran Paradiso, Weisshorn, Matterhorn, Monte Rosa, 2021-09-17.

Rocciamelone view of Glacier de Rochemelon, with La Grande Casse, Grand Motte, Mont Pourri, Massif du Mont Blanc (behind Pointe de Charbonnel), Grande Jorasses, Mont Dolent, l'Albaron, 2021-09-17.

With some luck, you might see a Brocken Spectre and glories at night:

Brocken Spectre at Rocciamelone, 2021-09-16.

Answer 2

At 3645 m, the (reportedly) highest European mountain accessible by regular hiking (no glacier gear) is Monte Vioz (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monte_Vioz) in Trentino, Italy. The climbing season streches from June to September.

Another similar mountain, though not the highest one available, is Hochfeiler / Gran Pilastro, 3510 m, in South Tyrol, Italy, on the border with Austria, but accessible only from the Italian side. Unlike Monte Vioz, I've already climbed Hochfeiler and it was a spectacular adventure, highly recommended.