Titlis is a mountain of the Uri Alps, located on the border between the cantons of Obwalden and

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

. At above sea level, it is the highest summit of the range north of the

Susten Pass Susten Pass (German: ''Sustenpass'') (el. 2260 m.) is a mountain pass in the Swiss Alps. The pass road, built from 1938–1945, connects Innertkirchen in the canton of Bern with Wassen in the canton of Uri. A 300-metre long tunnel crosses the pass ...

, between the

Bernese Oberland 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 (in which context it is referred to as ''Oberland'' witho ...

and Central Switzerland. It is mainly accessed from Engelberg (OW) on the north side and is famous as the site of the world's first rotating cable car. The cable car system connects Engelberg () to the summit of ''Klein Titlis'' () through the three stages of '' Gerschnialp'' (), '' Trübsee'' () and ''Stand'' (). In 2016, a direct route was created that bypassed Geraschnialp, going directly to Trübsee. The last part of cable car leads above the

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

. At ''Klein Titlis'', it is possible to visit an illuminated glacier cave from an entrance within the cable-car station, which also includes shops and restaurants. The Titlis Cliff Walk, the highest elevation suspension bridge in Europe, opened in December 2012, giving views across the Alps. Many people use Titlis as a cheaper and easier option than Jungfraujoch.

Geography

Titlis straddles the border between Obwalden and

. The main summit of Titlis (sometimes distinguished by the name ''Gross Titlis'') and Klein Titlis are both located between the municipalities of Engelberg on the north and Gadmen on the south. The Titlis massif is also partially located in Nidwalden, where the highest point of that canton is found: the Rotstöckli (2,901 m). Titlis itself is the highest point in Obwalden and in the valley of Engelberg. East of Titlis is the Grassen, where the borders between the cantons of Obwalden, Berne and Uri converge. The geographical center of Switzerland is situated about 15 kilometers west of the mountain. Titlis is the highest mountain in the portion of the Uri Alps north of the

. This part of the range is located between the valleys of the Hasli (west) and the Reuss (east), thus separating the waters feeding the basins of the Aare and Reuss respectively. On the north side, the valley of Engelberg (''Engelbergertal'') is drained by the Engelberger Aa, a tributary of the Lake Lucerne. The valley is located southwards from Lake Lucerne. The northern side of the massif is covered by the Titlis Glacier (). Due to the

global warming Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes ...

the glacier has been receded dramatically; it is expected to disappear in about twenty years. The south steep and rocky face rises above the Wenden Glacier. The east side overlooks a glacier named ''Firnalpeligletscher''.

History

In earlier times, Titlis was known under the names ''Wendenstock'' or ''Nollen''. The Reissend Nollen and the Wendenstöcke are the nearest western neighbours to the mountain, slightly lower than Titlis, but with sharp rugged peaks.Titlis
brauchtumschweiz.ch. Retrieved 16 February 2010 In a document of 1435 the mountain is called ''Tuttelsberg'' (''Tutilos mountain''), referencing to a man named ''Tutilos'', who was probably a local farmer. The name, from ''Tutilos Berg'', became ''Titlisberg'' and later ''Titlis''. The first ascent of Titlis was probably made in the year 1739. It was done by Ignaz Hess, J. E. Waser and two other men from Engelberg. The first written evidence of an ascent is found in the ''Engelberger Dokumente''. They mention a party of four men that reached the summit in 1744. On 21 January 1904 the first ski ascent of Titlis was made by Joseph Kuster and Willi Amrhein. In March 1967 the cable car to Klein Titlis (3,032 m) was inaugurated. In December 2012, the Titlis Cliff Walk opened to commemorate the 110th anniversary of the Engelberg-Gerschnialp cableway.

Telecommunications

Klein Titlis hosts a significant telecommunications site, used for high capacity point-to-point microwave radio links and VHF/ UHF repeaters. Licensed band radio links are regulated by the Swiss Federal Office of Communications.

Weather

The summit of Titlis is located above the snow line, thus it has a cold, snowy climate with permanent snow cover and freezing temperatures.

Gallery

File:Engelberg-Titlis cableway wallpaper.JPG, Stand-Klein Titlis cableway (July 2010) File:Titlis.jpg, Titlis Glacier (October 2005) File:Titlis Rotair.jpg, Stand-Klein Titlis cable car, old version (March 2008) File:Titlis, Kleintitlis und Sustenhorn von Pilatus.jpg, Titlis from Pilatus

References

Swisstopo Swisstopo is the official name for the Swiss Federal Office of Topography, Switzerland's national mapping agency. The current name was made official in 2002. It had been used as the domain name for the homepage of the instituteswisstopo.admi ...

maps

External links

Titlis webpage on the Swiss national tourist office

Titlis Tourism homepage
{{Authority control Mountains of Switzerland under 1000 metres Alpine three-thousanders Tourist attractions in Switzerland Cable cars in Switzerland Highest points of Swiss cantons Engelberg Mountains of Obwalden Mountains of the canton of Bern Bern–Obwalden border