Melchior Anderegg
Encyclopedia
Meiringen
-References:...
, was a Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
mountain guide and the first ascensionist
First ascent
In climbing, a first ascent is the first successful, documented attainment of the top of a mountain, or the first to follow a particular climbing route...
of many prominent mountains in the western Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
during the golden
Golden age of alpinism
The golden age of alpinism was the period between Alfred Wills's ascent of the Wetterhorn in 1854 and Edward Whymper's ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865, during which many major peaks in the Alps saw their first ascents....
and silver ages of alpinism
Silver age of alpinism
The silver age of alpinism is the name given to the era in mountaineering that began after Edward Whymper and party's ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865 and ended with W. W...
. His clients were mostly British, the most famous of whom was Leslie Stephen
Leslie Stephen
Sir Leslie Stephen, KCB was an English author, critic and mountaineer, and the father of Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell.-Life:...
, the writer, critic and mountaineer; Anderegg also climbed extensively with members of the Walker family, including Horace Walker
Horace Walker
Horace Walker was an English mountaineer who made many notable first ascents, including Mount Elbrus and the Grandes Jorasses.-Alpinism:...
and Lucy Walker
Lucy Walker (climber)
Lucy Walker was a British mountaineer and the first woman to climb the Matterhorn.Miss Walker began her climbing rather modestly in 1858 when she was advised by her doctor to take up walking as a cure for rheumatism...
, and with Florence Crauford Grove
Florence Crauford Grove
Florence Crauford Grove was an English mountaineer and author, sometimes known as F. Crauford Grove.-Mountaineer:Grove became an experienced alpinist in the late 1850s and joined the Alpine Club of London soon after it was formed in 1857, later serving as its President from 1884 to 1886...
.
Alpine guide
First ascents by Melchior Anderegg- WildstrubelWildstrubelThe Wildstrubel is a mountain in the Bernese Alps in Switzerland on the border between the Canton of Berne and the Canton of Valais.The mountain has three summits, all of similar height:...
, 3,243 m (Bernese AlpsBernese AlpsThe Bernese Alps are a group of mountain ranges in the western part of the Alps, in Switzerland. Although the name suggests that they are located in the Bernese Oberland region of the canton of Bern, portions of the Bernese Alps are in the adjacent cantons of Valais, Lucerne, Obwalden, Fribourg and...
), 11 September 1858 - RimpfischhornRimpfischhornThe Rimpfischhorn is a mountain in the Pennine Alps of Switzerland.The first ascent of the mountain was by Leslie Stephen and Robert Living with guides Melchior Anderegg and Johann Zumtaugwald on 9 September 1859. Their route of ascent was from Fluh Alp via the Rimpfischwänge.-External links:* *...
, 4,199 m (Pennine AlpsPennine AlpsThe Pennine Alps are a mountain range in the western part of the Alps. They are located in Switzerland and Italy...
), 9 September 1859 - AlphubelAlphubelThe Alphubel is a mountain in the Pennine Alps in Switzerland. It is part of the Mischabel range, which culminates at the Dom ....
, 4,206 m (Pennine Alps), 9 August 1860 - BlüemlisalphornBlüemlisalpThe Blüemlisalp is a massif of the Bernese Alps, in the territory of the municipalies of Kandersteg and Reichenbach im Kandertal.Its main peaks are:*Blüemlisalphorn *Wyssi Frau *Morgenhorn...
, 3,664 m (Bernese Alps), 27 August 1860 - Monte DisgraziaMonte DisgraziaMonte Disgrazia is a mountain in the Bregaglia range in the Italian Alps. It is the highest peak in the Val Masino group, situated south of the Bernina Range.It has five glaciers and five wild ridges and is a demanding climb....
, 3,678 m (Bregaglia RangeBregaglia RangeThe Bregaglia Range is a small group of mostly granite mountains in Graubünden, Switzerland and the Province of Sondrio, northern Italy. It derives its name from the partly Swiss, partly Italian valley, the Val Bregaglia, and is known as Bergell in German...
), 23 August 1862 - Dent d'HérensDent d'HérensThe Dent d'Hérens is a mountain in the Pennine Alps, lying on the border between Italy and Switzerland. The mountain lies a few kilometres west of the Matterhorn.The Aosta hut is used for the normal route.-Naming:...
, 4,171 m (Pennine Alps), 12 August 1863 - ParrotspitzeParrotspitzeThe Parrotspitze is a peak in the Pennine Alps of Italy and Switzerland. It is located south of Dufourspitze in the Monte Rosa Massif. The mountain is named after Johann Jakob Friedrich Wilhelm Parrot, a German doctor, who made an attempt on the Piramide Vincent with Joseph Zumstein in 1816.The...
, 4,432 m (Pennine Alps), 16 August 1863 - BalmhornBalmhornThe Balmhorn is a mountain in the Bernese Alps in Switzerland. Its summit ridge lies on the border between the cantons of Berne and the Valais....
, 3,698 m (Bernese Alps), 21 July 1864 - ZinalrothornZinalrothornThe Zinalrothorn is a mountain in the Pennine Alps in Switzerland. Its name comes from the village of Zinal lying on the north side and from the German word Rothorn which means Red Peak...
, 4,221 m (Pennine Alps), 22 August 1864 - Grandes JorassesGrandes JorassesThe Grandes Jorasses is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif.The first ascent of the highest peak of the mountain was by Horace Walker with guides Melchior Anderegg, Johann Jaun and Julien Grange on 30 June 1868...
, 4,208 m (Mont Blanc MassifMont Blanc MassifThe Mont Blanc massif is a mountain range in the western Alps. It is named after Mont Blanc, at 4,810.45 m the highest summit of the Alps. It is located in France , Italy , and Switzerland...
), 30 June 1868
Other noteworthy climbs by Melchior Anderegg
- Mont BlancMont BlancMont Blanc or Monte Bianco , meaning "White Mountain", is the highest mountain in the Alps, Western Europe and the European Union. It rises above sea level and is ranked 11th in the world in topographic prominence...
, 4,809 m, via the Bosses du Dromedaire (1859) - Mont BlancMont BlancMont Blanc or Monte Bianco , meaning "White Mountain", is the highest mountain in the Alps, Western Europe and the European Union. It rises above sea level and is ranked 11th in the world in topographic prominence...
via the Dôme du GoûterDôme du GoûterThe Dôme du Goûter is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif. It is a shoulder of Mont Blanc, whose summit lies two kilometres to the south-east...
(1861) - Solo reconnaissance up the Zmuttgrat of the MatterhornMatterhornThe Matterhorn , Monte Cervino or Mont Cervin , is a mountain in the Pennine Alps on the border between Switzerland and Italy. Its summit is 4,478 metres high, making it one of the highest peaks in the Alps. The four steep faces, rising above the surrounding glaciers, face the four compass points...
(Pennine Alps) (1863) - Mont BlancMont BlancMont Blanc or Monte Bianco , meaning "White Mountain", is the highest mountain in the Alps, Western Europe and the European Union. It rises above sea level and is ranked 11th in the world in topographic prominence...
via the Brenva face (1865) - Winter traverse of the FinsteraarhornFinsteraarhornThe Finsteraarhorn 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, or watershed. The Finsteraarhorn is the ninth highest and third most prominent peak in the Alps...
, 4,273 m (Bernese Alps) (1866) - Civetta, 3,220 m (DolomitesDolomitesThe Dolomites are a mountain range located in north-eastern Italy. It is a part of Southern Limestone Alps and extends from the River Adige in the west to the Piave Valley in the east. The northern and southern borders are defined by the Puster Valley and the Sugana Valley...
) (1867) - Winter ascent of the Plattenhörner (1869)
- First winter ascent of the GalenstockGalenstockThe Galenstock is the fourth highest mountain in the Urner Alps in Switzerland. Its summit ridge lies on the border between the cantons of Uri and the Valais....
, 3,586 m (Urner AlpsUrner AlpsThe Urner Alps are a mountain range in central Switzerland in the western part of the Alps. They extend into the cantons of Obwalden, Valais, Lucerne, Bern, Uri and Nidwalden and are bordered by the Bernese Alps to the west, the Lepontine Alps to the south and the Glarus Alps to the east.The Urner...
) (1877)
Wood carver
Anderegg was also a professional wood carver and owned a shop in ZermattZermatt
Zermatt is a municipality in the district of Visp in the German-speaking section of the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It has a population of about 5,800 inhabitants....
that sold his carvings (of bears, groups of chamois, and eagles, amongst other subjects), as well as 'Photographs of all the great peaks around Zermatt', alpenstocks, snow spectacles ('blue, green, and neutral tint') and Whymper's
Edward Whymper
Edward Whymper , was an English illustrator, climber and explorer best known for the first ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865. On the descent four members of the party were killed.-Early life:...
guides.Advertisement for Anderegg's shop in Whymper's Guide to Zermatt and the Matterhorn, reproduced in Mountains, ed. A. Kenny, London: John Murray, 1991, p. 196
