The Bernese Alps are a mountain range of the Alps, located in western Switzerland. Although the name suggests that they are located in the Berner Oberland region of the canton of Bern, portions of the Bernese Alps are in the adjacent cantons of Valais, Fribourg and Vaud, the latter being usually named Fribourg Alps and Vaud Alps respectively. The highest mountain in the range, the Finsteraarhorn, is also the highest point in the canton of Bern.
The higher region of the Alps were long left to the exclusive attention of the inhabitants of the adjoining valleys, even when Alpine travellers began to visit these valleys. It is reckoned that about 20 glacier passes were certainly known before 1600, about 25 more before 1700, and yet another 20 before 1800. Even though the attempt of P.A. Arnod, an official of the duchy of Aosta, in 1689 to "re-open" the Col du Ceant may be counted as having been made by a non-native, historical records do not show any further such activities until the last quarter of the 18th century. Nor did it fare much better with the high peaks, though the two earliest recorded ascents were due to non-natives, that of the Rocciamelone in 1358 having been undertaken in fulfilment of a vow, and that of the Mont Aiguille in 1492 by order of Charles VIII of France, in order to destroy its immense reputation for inaccessibility – in 1555 Conrad Gesner did not climb Pilatus proper, but only the grassy mound of the Gnepfstein, the lowest and the most westerly of the seven summits.
The Finsteraarhorn is a mountain lying on the border between the cantons of Bern and Valais. It is the highest mountain of the Bernese Alps and the most prominent peak of Switzerland. The Finsteraarhorn is the ninth-highest mountain and third-most prominent peak in the Alps. In 2001 the whole massif and surrounding glaciers were designated as part of the Jungfrau-Aletsch World Heritage Site.
The Diablerets are a huge ice-covered mountain massif of the Alps, culminating at the Sommet des Diablerets (VS) at 3,216 metres (10,551 ft) above sea level and almost straddling the border between the Swiss cantons of Vaud (VD) and Valais (VS). The northeastern part of the massif stretches also into the canton of Bern (BE).
The Jungfraujoch is a saddle connecting two major 4000ers of the Bernese Alps: the Jungfrau and the Mönch. It lies at an elevation of 3,463 metres (11,362 ft) above sea level and is directly overlooked by the rocky prominence of the Sphinx. The Jungfraujoch is a glacier saddle, on the upper snows of the Aletsch Glacier, and part of the Jungfrau-Aletsch area, situated on the boundary between the cantons of Bern and Valais, halfway between Interlaken and Fiesch.
The Emmental is a valley in west-central Switzerland, forming part of the canton of Bern. It is a hilly landscape comprising the basins of the rivers Emme and Ilfis. The region is mostly devoted to farming, particularly dairy farming. The principal settlements are the town of Burgdorf and the village of Langnau.
Piz Bernina is the highest mountain in the Eastern Alps, the highest point of the Bernina Range, and the highest peak in the Rhaetian Alps. It rises 4,048 m (13,281 ft) and is located south of Pontresina and near the major Alpine resort of St. Moritz, in the Engadin valley. It is also the most easterly mountain higher than 4,000 m (13,000 ft) in the Alps, the highest point of the Swiss canton of Graubünden, and the fifth-most prominent peak in the Alps. Although the summit lies within Switzerland, the massif is on the border with Italy. The "shoulder" known as La Spedla is the highest point in the Italian Lombardy region.
The Bernese Oberland, sometimes also known as the Bernese Highlands, is the highest and southernmost part of the canton of Bern. It is one of the canton's five administrative regions. It constitutes the Alpine region of the canton and the northern side of the Bernese Alps, including many of its highest peaks, among which the Finsteraarhorn, the highest in both range and canton.
The Barre des Écrins is a mountain in the French Alps with a peak elevation of 4,102 metres (13,458 ft). It is the highest peak of the Massif des Écrins and the Dauphiné Alps and the most southerly alpine peak in Europe that is higher than 4,000 metres. It is the only 4,000-metre mountain in France that lies outside the Mont Blanc Massif. Before the annexation of Savoy in 1860 it was the highest mountain in France.
The Weissmies 4,013 m (13,166 ft) is a mountain in the Pennine Alps in the canton of Valais in Switzerland near the village of Saas-Fee. It is the easternmost four-thousander of its range.
The Schreckhorn is a mountain in the Bernese Alps. It is the highest peak located entirely in the canton of Bern. The Schreckhorn is the northernmost Alpine four-thousander and the northernmost summit rising above 4,000 metres in Europe.
The Lauteraarhorn is a peak of the Bernese Alps, located in the canton of Bern. Together with the higher Schreckhorn, to which it is connected by a high ridge, it lies between the valleys of the Lower Grindelwald Glacier and the Unteraar Glacier, about 10 kilometres southeast of Grindelwald, the closest locality. The Lauteraarhorn belongs to the Aaremassif and is surrounded by large glaciers: the Lauteraargletscher and the Strahlegg-Gletscher and the Obers Ischmeer. Being off the main ridge of the Bernese Alps, all the glaciers surrounding the Lauteraarhorn and the Schreckhorn are part of the Aare basin. The Lauteraarhorn is the second highest summit lying wholly within the canton of Bern. Administratively, it is split between the municipalities of Grindelwald and Guttannen.
The Wildstrubel is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the border between the Swiss cantons of Bern and Valais. It forms a large glaciated massif, about 15 km wide, extending between the Rawil Pass and the Gemmi Pass. Along with the Muverans, the Diablerets and the Wildhorn, the Wildstrubel is one of the four distinct mountain massifs of the Bernese Alps that lie west of the Gemmi Pass. The massif of the Wildstrubel is at the centre between the valleys of Simmental (BE), Engstligental (BE) and the Rhone (VS), the exact location of the tripoint being the summit of the Schneehorn. It comprises several distinct summits, including the Wetzsteinhorn, the Rohrbachstein, the Weisshorn, the Pointe de la Plaine Morte, Mont Bonvin, the Trubelstock and the Schneehorn. The main crest with the almost equally high summits of the Mittelgipfel and the Grossstrubel forms an amphitheatre oriented eastward which ends at the Steghorn and the Daubenhorn. This area encloses the Wildstrubel Glacier. To the southwest, the Wildstrubel overlooks the high plateau of the Plaine Morte Glacier, which also includes an unnamed lake below the Schneehorn.
The Lagginhorn is a mountain in the Pennine Alps in Switzerland. It lies a few kilometres north of the slightly higher Weissmies and also close to the slightly lower Fletschhorn on the north.
Alexander Burgener was a Swiss mountain guide and the first ascentionist of many mountains and new routes in the western Alps during the silver age of alpinism.
The Senggchuppa is a mountain of the Swiss Pennine Alps, located south of the Simplon Pass in the canton of Valais. It lies north of the Fletschhorn-Lagginhorn-Weissmies group, the range lying between the Saastal and the Val Divedro.
The Trift Glacier is a 5 km (3 mi) long glacier (2005) in the Uri Alps near Gadmen, in the extreme east of the canton of Bern in Switzerland.
The Grosser Mythen is a mountain in the Schwyzer Alps of Central Switzerland. The mountain lies in the canton of Schwyz, to the east of the town of Schwyz, and to the south of the village of Alpthal in the valley of the river Alp.
