The Silvretta Alps are a

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

of the

Central Eastern Alps The Central Eastern Alps (german: Zentralalpen or Zentrale Ostalpen), also referred to as Austrian Central Alps (german: Österreichische Zentralalpen) or just Central Alps, comprise the main chain of the Eastern Alps in Austria and the adjacen ...

shared by

Tirol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

Vorarlberg Vorarlberg ( , ; gsw, label= Vorarlbergisch, Vorarlbearg, , or ) is the westernmost state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is the state with the ...

(both in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

) and Graubünden ( Switzerland). The Austrian states of Tirol and Vorarlberg are connected by a pass road ( Silvretta Hochalpenstraße at 2032 m). The majority of the peaks are elevated above three thousand metres and are surrounded by

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...

s. Thus, the area is also known as the "Blue Silvretta".

Borders

According to the

Alpine Club The first alpine club, the Alpine Club, based in the United Kingdom, was founded in London in 1857 as a gentlemen's club. It was once described as: :"a club of English gentlemen devoted to mountaineering, first of all in the Alps, members of whi ...

s, the Silvretta Alps are outlined from other groups by the following borders: St. Gallenkirch - Ill river as far as Partenen - Zeinisjoch - Zeinisbach - Paznauntal as far as

Ischgl Ischgl () is a town in the Paznaun valley in the Austrian state of Tyrol. Its ski resort is connected with that of Samnaun across the border in Switzerland to form one of the largest in the Alps. Ischgl was a major hotspot of the COVID-19 pandem ...

- Fimbertal - Fimber Pass - Val Chöglias - Val Sinestra - Inn River from the mouth of the Branclabach to the mouth of the Susasca - Val Susasca - Flüela Pass - Davos - Wolfgang - Laretbach -

Klosters Klosters is a Swiss village in the Prättigau, politically part of the municipality of Klosters-Serneus, which belongs to the political district Prättigau/Davos in the canton of Graubünden. In 2021, the municipality shortened its name to Kl ...

- Schlappinbach - Schlappiner Joch - Valzifensbach - Gargellental - St. Gallenkirch. The Silvretta Alps are surrounded by the

Rätikon The Rätikon is a mountain range of the Central Eastern Alps, located at the border between Vorarlberg, Liechtenstein and Graubünden. It is the geological border between the Eastern and Western Alps and stretches from the Montafon as far as ...

, Verwall,

Samnaun Samnaun ( rm, Samignun) is a high Alpine village and a valley at the eastern end of Switzerland and a municipality in the Engiadina Bassa/Val Müstair Region in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. History The valley was first used as a seasonal m ...

, Sesvenna, Albula and Plessur ranges. The Piz Buin is not the highest, but the most popular peak of the range. It can relatively easily be ascended from north or south through glaciers and stretches of easy climbing. The Silvretta is famous for its skiing especially its many

backcountry skiing Backcountry skiing ( US), also called off-piste (Europe), alpine touring, or out-of-area, is skiing in the backcountry on unmarked or unpatrolled areas either inside or outside a ski resort's boundaries. This contrasts with alpine skiing, which i ...

possibilities. In the 1920s

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century f ...

was staying in the region for a winter (he lived at

Schruns Schruns is a municipality in the Montafon valley (altitude 690 meters), in the Bludenz district of the westernmost Austrian state of Vorarlberg. To the west is the famous Zimba mountain, often called the "Vorarlberger Matterhorn," which is ver ...

Montafon Montafon ( in local dialect: "''Muntafu''") is a 39 km long valley in the westernmost Austrian federal state of Vorarlberg. It is traversed by the river Ill (Vorarlberg) and extends from the city of Bludenz and the Verwall Alps in the nort ...

). Later, he wrote a couple of short stories about his skiing experiences in the Silvretta. Some of these short stories are to be found in ''A moveable feast''.

Adjacent valleys

* Paznaun *

Engadin The Engadin or Engadine ( rm, ;This is the name in the two Romansh idioms that are spoken in the Engadin, Vallader and Puter, as well as in Sursilvan and Rumantsch Grischun. In Surmiran, the name is ''Nagiadegna'', and in Sutsilvan, it is ...

Peaks

Mountain huts

* Berghaus-Verein, private * Bodenalpenhaus, private * Chamanna Dal Linard, Swiss Alpine Club (SAC) * Fergen Hut, SAC * Heidelberger Hut, German Alpine Club (DAV), Heidelberg Section * Jamtal Hut DAV, Schwaben Section * Klostertaler Umwelt Hut, DAV * Madlenerhaus, DAV Wiesbaden Section * Saarbrücken Hut, DAV, Alpenverein u. Skiclub Silvretta * Seetal Hut, SAC * Silvretta Hut, SAC * Tuoi Hut, SAC * Tübingen Hut, DAV, Tübingen Section * Wiesbaden Hut, DAV Wiesbaden Section

Ski areas in the Silvretta Alps

* Silvretta Montafon –

, Austria – largest ski area offering 113 km of slopes * Silvretta Bielerhöhe – Partenen –

, Austria * Gargellen –

, Austria * Galtür – Silvapark –

Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

, Austria *

Scuol Scuol () is a municipality in the Engiadina Bassa/Val Müstair Region in the Swiss canton of Grisons. The official language in Scuol is Romansh. On 1 January 2015 the former municipalities of Ardez, Guarda, Tarasp, Ftan and Sent merged in ...

(Motta Naluns) – Graubünden, Switzerland * Parsenn (Davos Klosters) – Graubünden, Switzerland – highest ski area which extends up to an altitude of 2,844m * Madrisa (Davos Klosters) – Graubünden, Switzerland * Pischa (Davos Klosters) – Graubünden, Switzerland * Selfranga – Klosters – Graubünden, Switzerland *

Ardez Ardez () is a former municipality in the district of Inn in the canton of Graubünden in eastern Switzerland. The village is located in the Lower Engadin valley. On 1 January 2015 the former municipalities of Ardez, Guarda, Tarasp, Ftan and S ...

– Graubünden, Switzerland * Guarda – Graubünden, Switzerland

References