The revolving restaurant atop 9,744 ft (2,970 m) Schilthorn, pictured above, was the setting for the fortress Piz Gloria in the 1969 James Bond movie On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. It really does look like a fortress atop the craggy summit of Schilthorn. The restaurant was under construction before the filming and subsequently was named after the fictional fortress. Today the station maintains a James Bond theme, with displays and memorabilia from the movie, and is a popular tourist attraction in the area.

From our hotel in Murren, a ten-minute walk brought us to the station to take a cable car to Birg at altitude 8,805 ft (2,684 m). From there, we transferred to a a second cable car to reach the summit of 9,744 ft (2,970 m) Schilthorn for spectacular 360° views of the area, and a bit of James Bond trivia.

Below are highlights from June 30th, 2022. Click any image for a larger view, or click the position to view the location on a map. And a map with our most recent log entries always is available at mvdirona.com/maps.

Schilthorn Map Position: 46°33.48’N, 7°53.48’E We’ll be staying in the Murren area today, starting with a trip to 9,744 ft (2,970 m) Schilthorn at upper left. Murren is at lower left at Schilthorn’s base and Lauterbrunen, where we connect to trains throughout the area, is at bottom right. To reach Murren from Lauterbrunen, we take a cable car up to Grutschalp, then a train across to Murren. The map also shows the other way to reach Murren via cable car from Stechelberg at bottom left via Gimmelwald.

Allmendhubel Position: 46°33.64’N, 7°53.65’E The funicular to Murren’s “home” mountain, 6,338-ft (1,932 m) Allmendhubel. We walked past it on the way to the cable car station for Schilthorn.

Cable Car to Birg Position: 46°33.51’N, 7°53.08’E Riding the cable car to Birg station at altitude 8,805 ft (2,684 m). From there, we’ll transfer to a second cable car to reach the summit of 9,744 ft (2,970 m) Schilthorn.

Piz Gloria Position: 46°33.71’N, 7°51.46’E Approaching the summit of Schilthorn, with a view to the revolving restaurant Piz Gloria. The restaurant was the setting for the fortress in the 1969 James Bond movie On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. It really does look like a fortress atop the craggy summit of Schilthorn (click image for a larger view).

Gun Barrel Position: 46°33.44’N, 7°50.12’E The restaurant that was Piz Gloria in the James Bond movie was under construction before the filming and subsequently was named after the fictional fortress. The station is themed on James Bond, with displays and memorabilia from the movie. Here Jennifer is posing with the famous James Bond gun barrel image.

View South Position: 46°33.54’N, 7°49.85’E The spectacular view south from the summit of 9,744 ft (2,970 m) Schilthorn.

Permanent Snow Position: 46°33.43’N, 7°50.12’E One of Schilthorn’s advertised experiences is “Touch the Snow” at the permanent snow surface on the northern slope. Here a worker is preparing the “permanent” snow for a day of tourists. It’s actually a commercial ice-making machine where the output is ground up to form snow.

Thun Position: 46°33.50’N, 7°49.93’E The view north from Schilthorn across the Thunersee (Thun Lake) to the village of Thun (click image for a larger view).

Alpine Rock Jasmine Position: 46°33.54’N, 7°49.85’E Not much grows atop 9,744 ft (2,970 m) Schilthorn, but as we walked the trails we did see many colorful displays of wildflowers such as this Alpine Rock Jasmine.

No High Heels Position: 46°33.43’N, 7°50.11’E It seems fairly self-evident that a steep alpine ski hill isn’t the ideal location for high heels, but apparently the mistake has been made :). We saw the same warning at the busy Pulpit Rock hike in Norway.

Schilthorn View Position: 46°33.44’N, 7°50.12’E The spectacular view east from Schilthorn towards the cable car station at Birg (center). Just to the right of Birg is the triangular peak of 13,024 ft (3,967 m) Eiger, whose north face we passed in the gondola yesterday. The higher mountain farther right, partly in the clouds, is 13,642 ft (4,158 m) Jungfrau (click image for a larger view).

Protecting Snow Position: 46°33.54’N, 7°50.59’E As we rode down on the cable car from Schilthorn, we saw several places where white tarps covered large areas of snow to preserve it for next year’s ski season.

Cable Car Position: 46°33.70’N, 7°51.46’E Passing another cable car on the ascent as we descend to Birg.

Birg Thrill Walk Position: 46°33.69’N, 7°51.46’E The Birg Thrill Walk is a series of walkways and tightropes strung out along the cliff beneath the cable car station. Due to blasting activities, only the tightrope was open while we were there. It was a fun experience though, sort of like a via ferrata with training wheels.

Click the travel log icon on the left to see these locations on a map. And a map of our most recent log entries always is available at mvdirona.com/maps.