The Finsteraarhorn (4,274 m (14,022 ft)) is the highest mountain in the Bernese Alps and the highest mountain in the canton of Berne. It is also the highest summit in the Alps lying outside the main chain. The Finsteraarhorn is the third most prominent peak in the Alps. Since 2001 the whole massif and surrounding glaciers are part of the Jungfrau-Aletsch World Heritage Site.
Despite being the highest mountain of the Bernese Alps, the summit of the Finsteraarhorn is less frequented than those of the nearby Jungfrau and Eiger. This is due to its location in one of the most remote areas in the Alps, completely surrounded by un-inhabited glacial valleys.
To its west lies the Fiescher Glacier, the third largest in the Alps, and to the east lie the Great Aar Glaciers. The smaller Lower Grindelwald Glacier lies north of the massif. The Finsteraarhorn is surrounded by the summits of the Schreckhorn and Lauteraarhorn to the north, the Gross Fiescherhorn, Grünhorn and Gross Wannenhorn to the west and the Oberaarhorn to the east.
The summit lies on the border between the canton of Valais and Berne, which is also the watershed between the Rhone (Mediterranean Sea) and Rhine (North Sea) rivers. The Finsteraarhorn is the culminating point of the Rhine drainage basin.
The Finsteraarhorn is the culminating point of the Aarmassif, a geologic crystalline massif which crops out in the eastern Bernese Alps and Urner Alps. The massif belongs to the Helvetic zone and consists of rocks from the European continent, mainly granites and gneisses. The summit itself is composed of amphibolites.
The tectonic uplift of the massif occurred 6 million years ago. The inelastic deformation of rocks led to many fractures and formation of hydrothermal crystals by the deposition of the saturated water flowing inside.
The identity of the first ascentionists was long a controversial matter. Although Johann Rudolf Meyer claimed to have reached the summit on an attempt in 1812 with guides Arnold Abbühl, Joseph Bortes and Aloys Volker, it is now accepted – after the research of John Percy Farrar in the Alpine Journal – that Jakob Leuthold and Johann Währen (guides to Franz Joseph Hugi) were the first to reach the summit via the north-west ridge on 10 August 1829 (Hugi and others remained just below the top). Hugi, with A. Abbühl, A Dändler, C. Lauener and J. Währenhad reached the saddle below the summit (the Hugisattel) on 19 August 1828 but had to retreat because of bad weather. As mentioned in Hugi's notes (Naturhistorische Alpenreise), Hugi and Dändler risked their lives on that day
The first attempt (and claimed ascent) made on 16 August 1812 by Rudolph Meyer and his guides took place on the south-east ridge, which is a more difficult and longer route than the normal route. One of the guides, Arnold Abbühl, was questioned by Franz Joseph Hugi later in 1828 about the ascent, but he didn't convince Hugi about the success of the ascent. Hugi also noted in 1829 that no traces of a previous ascent were found.
One year later, on 10 August 1829, Hugi again attempted to climb the mountain with Leuthold and Währen. Unfortunately if the ascent was this time successful, Hugi had to wait on the saddle while the other reached the summit. He was in fact lightly injured and could not go any higher.
from the summit]] The fifth ascent took place on August 13, 1857. It was the first British ascent, made by John Frederick Hardy, William Mathews, Benjamin St John Attwood-Mathews, J.C.W. Ellis and Edward Shirley Kennedy, accompanied by the guides Auguste Simond and Jean Baptiste Croz from Chamonix, Johann Jaun the Elder from Meiringen, Aloys Bortis from Fiesch and the porter Alexander Guntern from Biel in Goms. They left Konkordiaplatz at 2:30 pm, reaching the summit at exactly 11:53 pm. Before ascending the mountain, Mathews already mentioned his idea of a club for alpinists. On the summit of the Finsteraarhorn the climbers decided to found such an association, which would be named the Alpine Club.
The most difficult route to the summit, the north-east face, was opened on 16 July 1904 by G. Hasler and his guide F. Amatter. The ascent marked the beginning of the épopée of the great north faces in the Bernese Alps. In fact the north-east face of the Finsteraarhorn was climbed only 11 times between 1904 and 1977. A third ascent was made on 3 September 1930 by Miriam O'Brien Underhill with guides A. and F. Rubi. She relates this dangerous ascent in her book Give me the Hills.
The normal route starts at the Finsteraarhorn Hut (3,046 m) and goes over the south-west flank of the mountain up to the Hugisattel, then follows the north-west rocky ridge to the the summit.
| Routes | Start | Time of ascent | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Normal route | Finsteraarhorn Hut | 4-5 hours | AD- |
| North-west ridge (Agassiz ridge) | Finsteraarhorn Hut | 3-4 hours from the Agassizjoch | AD |
| South-east ridge | Oberaar Hut | 14-15 hours | D |
| East face | Oberaar Hut | 8-10 hours from the Studerjoch | TD |
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