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Wildhorn

Alpine three-thousandersBernese AlpsBern–Valais borderMountains of SwitzerlandMountains of Valais
Mountains of the AlpsMountains of the canton of Bern
Wildhorn
Wildhorn

The Wildhorn is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the border between the Swiss cantons of Bern and Valais. At 3,248 metres (10,656 ft) above sea level, it is the highest summit of the Bernese Alps west of the Gemmi Pass. It forms a large glaciated massif, about 10 km wide, extending between the Sanetsch Pass and the Rawil Pass. Along with the Muverans, the Diablerets and the Wildstrubel, the Wildhorn is one of the four distinct mountain massifs of the Bernese Alps that lie west of the Gemmi Pass. The massif of the Wildhorn is at the centre between the valleys of the Saane, Simme (both canton of Bern) and the Rhone (Valais). It comprises several distinct summits, including (from west to east) the Arpelistock, Le Sérac, the Geltenhorn, the Sex Noir, the Sex Rouge, the Schnidehorn and the Six des Eaux Froides. The main crest is between the glaciers named Tungelgletscher and Glacier du Wildhorn. South of the main summit is the almost equally high summit of Mont Pucel (3,177 m). The Wildhorn is surrounded by several large mountain lakes: the Lac de Sénin, the Lauenensee, the Iffigsee, the Lac de Tseuzier and the Lac des Audannes. The Tungelgletscher, on the north-east face, was measured as 1.9 km in length in 1973. The Wildhorn lies approximately halfway between Gstaad (BE; 14 km away), Sion (VS; 14 km) and Lenk (BE; 13 km), its summit being in the municipalities of Lauenen (BE), Savièse (VS) and Ayent (VS). The nearest settlements are Lauenen, Anzère (Ayent) and Gsteig bei Gstaad. The highest place in the massif that can be easily reached is the Pas de Maimbré station (2,362 m), which is connected to Anzère by a gondola lift. As for the other mountains on the crest of the Bernese Alps, the slopes of the Wildhorn experience different types of climate depending on their location: the northern slopes are cooler and wetter while the southern slopes are drier and warmer. Forests are found up to 1,800 metres on the north side and up to 2,100 metres on the south side. Glaciers also reach significantly lower locations on the north side. Vineyards are also very common on the Valais side, especially below 1000 metres, but completely absent on the Bernese side, where alpine pastures dominate the landscape, as in many other areas of the Bernese Oberland. The ascent of the Wildhorn involves either glacier crossings or technical climbs. The Swiss Alpine Club maintains the Wildhornhütte shelter (2,303 m) in the Iffigtal, above the Iffigsee, on the northern slopes of the mountain. The easiest ascent (a glacier tour) starts from there. Another hut, the Cabane des Audannes (2,505 m) is located near the Lac des Audannes on the south side. More challenging ascents commence from the Geltenhütte (2,759 m), above the Col du Brochet. The first ascent was made by Gottlieb Samuel Studer in September 1843.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Wildhorn (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Wildhorn
Ayent

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N 46.354583333333 ° E 7.3608611111111 °
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Ayent


1966 Ayent
Wallis, Switzerland
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Wildhorn
Wildhorn
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Sex Rouge (Wildhorn)

The Sex Rouge is a mountain of the Bernese Alps, located north of Anzère in the canton of Valais. It belongs to the massif of the Wildhorn massif and it overlooks the Lac des Audannes. It should not be confused with another nearby peak of the same name; this other Sex Rouge is located just west of Oldenhorn and is the terminus of a cable car line serving the Glacier 3000 ski area adjacent to the Diablerets. The name component "Sex" is etymologically derived from the Latin "saxum" (rock), see Sex (mountain name). In French, it is typically pronounced as "say", with the mountain name phonetically pronounced as "say rooj".

Lac des Audannes
Lac des Audannes

Lac des Audannes is a lake in the Canton of Valais, Switzerland.

Schnidejoch
Schnidejoch

The Schnidejoch is a mountain pass in the Bernese Alps, at 2,756 m (9,042 ft) above sea level, cutting across the ridge connecting the Schnidehorn and the Wildhorn. Archaeological artifacts, their dates spread over six millennia (from the Neolithic to the Late Middle Ages), have been discovered near the pass. They suggest that the pass was in regular use as a short route across the Bernese Alps, connecting the Bernese Oberland and the Valais, throughout this period. The nearest easier passes across the massif are the Sanetschpass (2,252 m (7,388 ft)) and the Rawilpass (2,429 m (7,969 ft)), situated a short distance to the west and east, respectively. In September 2003, Bronze Age or Neolithic artifacts were discovered at the icefield just below the pass, at ca. 2,500 m (8,200 ft). The discovery was made possible by the melting away of the formerly permanent ice field during the exceptionally hot summer of 2003. Further searches in 2004 and 2005 yielded more than 400 objects dating to various epochs, about half of them placed by carbon dating to between 29th and the 27th centuries BC (Corded ware period). The objects include hunting weapons and clothing. A yew bow found at the site and taken home by a German tourist in 2003 was returned to the Bernese cantonal archaeologists in 2005.The 3rd millennium dates of the oldest artifacts were revised to the mid 5th millennium BC (linear pottery period) in a 2008 press release. The revised dates would establish the artifacts as older than Ötzi the Iceman.

Schnidehorn
Schnidehorn

The Schnidehorn is a mountain of the Bernese Alps, located on the border between the Swiss cantons of Bern and Valais. It lies in the massif of the Wildhorn, west of the Rawil Pass. A ridge connects the Schnidehorn and the Wildhorn to the southwest, via the Schnidejoch.

Sex Noir

The Sex Noir (2,731 m) is a mountain of the Bernese Alps, located north of Anzère in the canton of Valais. It belongs to the massif of the Wildhorn and lies approximately halfway between the summit of the Wildhorn and the Prabé, on the range separating the valley of La Morge from the valley of La Sionne. Both rivers end in the Rhone.

Le Sérac

Le Sérac is a mountain of the Bernese Alps, located near the Sanetsch Pass in the canton of Valais. It belongs to the Wildhorn massif.

Six des Eaux Froides
Six des Eaux Froides

The Six des Eaux Froides is a mountain of the Bernese Alps, located north of Anzère in the canton of Valais. It lies in the massif of the Wildhorn, between the Lac des Audannes and the Lac de Tseuzier.

Anzère
Anzère

Anzère is a small village in the canton of Valais, Switzerland, located in the municipality of Ayent and close to Sion and Crans. A south-facing purpose-built resort in traditional Swiss architectural style. The Swiss ski resort of Anzère has direct access to 58 km of downhill skiing, with 15 individual pistes, served by 13 ski lifts.

Lac de Tseuzier
Lac de Tseuzier

Lac de Tseuzier is an artificial lake in the canton of Valais, Switzerland. It is located in the municipalities of Ayent and Icogne. The reservoir has a volume of 51 mio m³ and a surface area of 0.85 km2 (0.33 sq mi). It was formed by the dams of Zeuzier (156 m) and Proz-Riond (20 m) built in 1957.

Prabé

The Prabé (2,042 m) is a mountain of the Bernese Alps, overlooking Savièse in the canton of Valais. It lies at the southern end of the ridge that descends from the Wildhorn and the Sex Noir. Although the Prabé has almost no topographic prominence, it dominates the Rhone valley with a height of more than 1,500 metres. A mountain hut is located near the summit at 1,982 metres.

Wetzsteinhorn

The Wetzsteinhorn (also known as Sex des Molettes) is a mountain of the Bernese Alps, overlooking the lake of Tseuzier in the canton of Valais.

Ayent
Ayent

Ayent is a municipality in the district of Hérens in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.