Pierre Nicholas Dorsaz

19th century), was an inhabitant of the village of Bourg-Saint-Pierre[1] who acted as Napoleon Bonaparte's guide when he crossed the Alps in 1800, by way of the Great St Bernard Pass, as part of his plan to make an unexpected arrival in Italy, and surprise the Austrian army.

Napoleon's official correspondence refers to him as "Pierre Nicholas",[4] but other accounts call him Jean Pierre Dorsaz and in Émile Bégin's 1853 Histoire de Napoleon he is named as Jean Baptiste Dorsaz.

[5] The journey itself took place after Napoleon returned from his military campaign in Egypt at the turn of the 19th century, to find that the Austrians had been able to reconquer Italy.

The journey through the Great St Bernard Pass (which was, after thorough consideration, decided to be the best possible route through the harsh Alps[8]), commenced on the 15 May 1800 and took five days.

Local legend also credits the money with securing Dorsaz a wife, as without a house he was unable to marry the girl he was in love with.