Melchior Anderegg

Melchior Anderegg (left) and Leslie Stephen (ca.1870)

Melchior Anderegg (1864)

Melchior Anderegg (born March 28, 1828 in Zaun near Meiringen ; † December 8, 1914 in Hausen near Meiringen) was a Swiss mountain guide and the first to climb some prominent western Alps peaks. In 1856, together with Christian Almer, he was the first to receive the Swiss mountain guide patent, which is why he - in addition to his excellent alpine skills - was also referred to as the “King of Guides”. Anderegg mostly had English customers, the most famous of whom was Leslie Stephen , the co-founder of the English Alpine Club .

First ascents

Melchior Anderegg was present on the following first ascents:

• Wildstrubel (3244 m, Bernese Alps ), September 11, 1858 with Leslie Stephen and TW Hinchliff,
• Rimpfischhorn (4199 m, Valais Alps ), September 9, 1859 with Leslie Stephen, Robert Liveing ​​and Johannes Zumtaugwald ,
• Alphubel (4206 m, Valais Alps), August 9, 1860 with Peter Perren with TW Hinchliff and Leslie Stephen,
• Blüemlisalphorn (3664 m, Bernese Alps), August 27, 1860 with R. Liveing, F. Ogi, P. Simond, Leslie Stephen and JK Stone,
• Monte Disgrazia (3678 m, Bergeller Alps ), 23 August 1862 with Leslie Stephen, Thomas Stuart Kennedy and Thomas Cox,
• Dent d'Hérens (4171 m, Valais Alps), August 12, 1863 with Florence Crauford Grove , William Edward Hall, Reginald Somerled Macdonald, Montagu Woodmass, Jean-Pierre Cachat and Peter Perren,
• Parrotspitze (4436 m, Valais Alps), August 16, 1863 with Florence Crauford Grove, William Edward Hall, Reginald Somerled Macdonald, Montagu Woodmass and Peter Perren,
• Balmhorn (3699 m, Bernese Alps), July 21, 1864 with Frank Walker , Lucy Walker , Horace Walker and Jakob Anderegg ,
• Zinalrothorn (4221 m, Valais Alps), August 22, 1864 with Florence Crauford Grove and Leslie Stephen,
• Grandes Jorasses (4208 m, Mont Blanc group ), June 30, 1868 with Horace Walker , Johann Jaun and Julien Grange.

Other notable tours by Melchior Anderegg were:

• 

  Melchior Anderegg (1896)
  Mont Blanc (4809 m) over the Bosses du Dromedaire (1859),
• Mont Blanc over the Dôme du Goûter (1861),
• Solo exploration tour on the Zmuttgrat of the Matterhorn (1863),
• Mont Blanc over the Brenva flank (1865),
• Winter crossing of the Finsteraarhorn (4273 m, 1866),
• Civetta (3220 m, 1867),
• Winter ascent of the Plattenhörner (1869),
• Matterhorn (4478 m) with Lucy Walker (1871), first ascent by a woman
• First winter ascent of the Galenstock (3583 m, 1877).

literature

• Peter Bernet: Anderegg, Melchior. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
• Natascha Knecht: pioneer and gentleman of the Alps. The life of the legendary mountain guide Melchior Anderegg (1828–1914) and the heyday of the first ascent in Switzerland. Limmat Verlag , Zurich 2014.

Web links

• Publications by and about Melchior Anderegg in the Helveticat catalog of the Swiss National Library