The Bietschhorn (3,934 m) is a
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 area, and is usually higher t ...
in canton Wallis to the south 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=
, ...
in
Switzerland. The northeast and southern slopes of the mountain are part of the
Jungfrau-Aletsch Protected Area (formerly ''Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn'') listed as a
UNESCO World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
that also includes the
Jungfrau and the
Aletsch Glacier
The Aletsch Glacier (german: Aletschgletscher, ) or Great Aletsch Glacier () is the largest glacier in the Alps. It has a length of about (2014), has about a volume of (2011), and covers about (2011) in the eastern Bernese Alps in the Swiss ...
. The Bietschhorn is located on the south side of the
Lötschental
The Lötschental is the largest valley on the northern side of the Rhône valley in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It lies in the Bernese Alps, with the Lonza (river), Lonza running down the length of the valley from its source within the ...
valley and form part of the UNESCO World Heritage Region at the north end of the Bietschtal valley and Baltschiedertal valley. Most climbers approach the mountain from either the Bietschhornhütte or the
Baltschiederklause.
It was first climbed on 13 August 1859 by
Leslie Stephen, with guides Anton Siegen, Johann Siegen and Joseph Ebener. An account of some of Stephen's first ascents was published by Leslie Stephen in his book ''The Playground of Europe'' (1871). The Bietschhorn ascent however is not mentioned in that classic mountaineering book.
See also
*
List of mountains of the Alps above 3000 m
This page tabulates only the most prominent mountains of the Alps, selected for having a topographic prominence of ''at least'' , and all of them exceeding in height. Although the list contains 537 summits, some significant alpine mountains ar ...
*
List of mountains of Valais
*
List of mountains of Switzerland
This article contains a sortable table of many of the major mountains and hills of Switzerland. The table only includes those summits that have a topographic prominence of at least above other points, and ranks them by height and prominence. The ...
*
List of most isolated mountains of Switzerland
References
External links
Bietschhorn on SummitPost
Photographs
Mountains of the Alps
Alpine three-thousanders
World Heritage Sites in Switzerland
Bernese Alps
Mountains of Valais
Mountains of Switzerland
Three-thousanders of Switzerland
{{Valais-geo-stub