The Silberhorn (3,695 m) is a pyramid-shaped

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

of the

Bernese Alps , topo_map= Swiss Federal Office of Topography swisstopo , photo=BerneseAlps.jpg , photo_caption=The Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau , country= Switzerland , subdivision1_type=Cantons , subdivision1= , parent= Western Alps , borders_on= , l ...

, to the northwest of the

Jungfrau The Jungfrau ( "maiden, virgin"), at is one of the main summits of the Bernese Alps, located between the northern canton of Bern and the southern canton of Valais, halfway between Interlaken and Fiesch. Together with the Eiger and Mönch, the J ...

of which it is a satellite peak. A first attempt to reach the summit of the Silberhorn was made in June 1863 by M. v. Fellenberg from the Stufensteinalp on the east side of the valley of

Lauterbrunnen , neighboring_municipalities= Aeschi bei Spiez, Blatten (Lötschen) (VS), Fieschertal (VS), Grindelwald, Gündlischwand, Kandersteg, Lütschental, Reichenbach im Kandertal, Saxeten, Wilderswil , twintowns = } Lauterbrunnen is a village ...

. After 9 hours of most perilous climbing the party encountered an impracticable precipice of rock, and were forced to return. In the following month of August MM. Badeker and v. Fellenberg, with two guides of

Grindelwald Grindelwald is a village and Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli (administrative district), Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Bern (canton), Berne. In addition ...

, and others, reached the summit from the

Wengernalp The Wengernalp is an alpine meadow at an elevation of 1874 m, above Wengen in the Bernese Oberland of Switzerland. It lies on the southern slopes of the Lauberhorn, just below Kleine Scheidegg, a mountain pass connecting the valleys of Lauterbru ...

. Ascending by the Guggi Glacier, they passed a night on the rocks at the foot of the Schneehorn, a buttress of the Jungfrau dividing the Guggi and Giessen Glaciers. On the following day they gained the desired summit by a long and difficult circuit under the cliffs of the Jungfrau. The still longer and equally difficult ascent of the Jungfrau was effected from this side for the first time two years later. The northwest ridge was first ascended in 1865 by the Rev.

James John Hornby James John Hornby CVO (18 December 1826 – 2 November 1909) was an English rower and headmaster of Eton College from 1868 to 1884. Early life Hornby was born at Winwick, the third son of Admiral Sir Phipps Hornby and his wife Sophia Maria Bu ...

, Rev. Thomas Henry Philpot, with guides Christian and Ulrich Almer, Johann Bischof, and Christian Lauener. CH-NB - Jungfrau, von Isenfluh aus - Collection Gugelmann - GS-GUGE-BLEULER-1-16.tif, Silberhorn and Jungfrau 1837 (on the left: Mönch). Gouache painting by Johann Heinrich Bleuler, the Younger (1787–1857) Johann Heinrich Müller, 1825-1894 E11 Jungfrau.JPG, Silberhorn and Jungfrau c. 1870. Oil painting by

Heinrich Müller Heinrich Müller may refer to: * Heinrich Müller (cyclist) (born 1926), Swiss cyclist * Heinrich Müller (footballer, born 1888) (1888–1957), Swiss football player and manager * Heinrich Müller (footballer, born 1909) (1909–2000), Austrian ...

In a 1968 letter,

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philology, philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was ...

identified the Silberhorn as it appeared to him when camping near

Mürren Mürren is a traditional Walser mountain village in the Bernese Highlands of Switzerland, at an elevation of above sea level and it cannot be reached by public road. It is also one of the popular tourist spots in Switzerland, and summer and wi ...

in 1911 as "the Silvertine (

Celebdil In the fictional world of J. R. R. Tolkien, Moria, also named Khazad-dûm, is an ancient subterranean complex in Middle-earth, comprising a vast labyrinthine network of tunnels, chambers, mines and halls under the Misty Mountains, with doors ...

) of my dreams". Near the bottom of the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

Lauberhorn downhill course is the ''Silberhornsprung'', a jump with the Silberhorn visible in the background for the television audience.

References

* Dumler, Helmut and Willi P. Burkhardt, ''The High Mountains of the Alps'', London: Diadem, 1994

External links

Silberhorn on Hikr
Mountains of Switzerland Mountains of the Alps Alpine three-thousanders Bernese Alps Mountains of the canton of Bern {{Bern-mountain-stub