This mountain range forms Ferelden's natural western border with Orlais. Gherlen's Pass leading to Orlais is the only Frostback passage safe for year-round travel. The mountains are considered highly inhospitable, and yet they house the native Avvar tribes, and, beneath the northern foothills, most of the continent's dwarves. The entrance to the dwarven city of Orzammar lies in Gherlen's Pass, with its permanent shanty-town filled with traders and petitioners, making it of strategic importance.