Silberhorn
Encyclopedia
The Silberhorn is a pyramid-shaped mountain
in the Bernese
Alps
, to the northwest of the Jungfrau
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
. 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, and others, reached the summit from the Wengernalp
. 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
, Rev. Thomas Henry Philpot, with guides Christian and Ulrich Almer, Johann Bischof and Christian Lauener.
In a 1968 letter, J. R. R. Tolkien
identified the Silberhorn as it appeared to him when camping near Mürren
in 1911 as "the Silvertine (Celebdil) of my dreams".
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
in the Bernese
Canton of Berne
The Canton of Bern is the second largest of the 26 Swiss cantons by both surface area and population. Located in west-central Switzerland, it borders the Canton of Jura and the Canton of Solothurn to the north. To the west lie the Canton of Neuchâtel, the Canton of Fribourg and Vaud. To the south...
Alps
Swiss Alps
The Swiss Alps are the portion of the Alps mountain range that lies within Switzerland. Because of their central position within the entire Alpine range, they are also known as the Central Alps....
, to the northwest of the Jungfrau
Jungfrau
The Jungfrau is one of the main summits in the Bernese Alps, situated between the cantons of Valais and Bern in Switzerland...
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
Lauterbrunnen
Lauterbrunnen is a municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.The municipality lies in the Lauterbrunnen Valley and comprises the villages Lauterbrunnen, Wengen, Mürren, Gimmelwald, Stechelberg and Isenfluh...
. 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, and others, reached the summit from the Wengernalp
Wengernalp
The Wengernalp is an alpine meadow at an elevation of 1874 m, between Wengen and Kleine Scheidegg in the Swiss Alps. It can be reached on foot, by Wengernalpbahn to Wengernalp railway station from Wengen or by skiing from Kleine Scheidegg....
. 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
John James Hornby C.V.O. was an English rower, and headmaster of Eton College from 1868 to 1884.-Early life:...
, Rev. Thomas Henry Philpot, with guides Christian and Ulrich Almer, Johann Bischof and Christian Lauener.
In a 1968 letter, J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
identified the Silberhorn as it appeared to him when camping near Mürren
Mürren
Mürren is a traditional Walser mountain village in Bernese Oberland, Switzerland, at an elevation of 1,650 m above sea level and unreachable by public road....
in 1911 as "the Silvertine (Celebdil) of my dreams".