HISTORICAL TRAILS
WESTERN ALPS
PATHS OF THE FIRST CLIMBERS
1786
Michel Gabriel Paccard, Jacques Balmat
MONT BLANC
Trois Monts Route (PD+)
On August 7th, Paccard, a doctor from Chamonix, together with Balmat, with whom he had already been on the mountain, dared to do something that no other expedition on Mont Blanc had ever attempted before: they spent the night at 2,300 meters near the Bossons Glacier; this was their key to success. All previous expeditions considered it far too dangerous to spend the night at such a high altitude and started lower. On August 8th, the two struggled for many hours through a then-unfamiliar landscape of rock and ice and reached the summit at 6:23 p.m. Completely exhausted, the descent became a life-threatening hell. On the morning of August 9th, snowblind and at the end of their strength, they reached Chamonix. Mont Blanc was conquered. Today, this first ascent is considered the birth of modern mountaineering.
1829
Jakob Leuthold, Johann Währen, Franz Joseph Hugi
FINSTERAARHORN
Northwest Ridge (AD-)
It is unclear whether the Finsteraarhorn was first climbed in 1812 by Arnold Abbühl, Joseph Bortis, and Alois Volkern. They chose a route over the hanging glacier on the eastern flank of the southeast ridge, which has now largely melted away. The first ascent on August 10, 1829, by Jakob Leuthold and Johann Währen, is now considered the first and officially confirmed ascent. Together with glacier researcher Franz Joseph Hugi, who had to remain behind in a saddle that now bears his name due to a foot injury, they reached the highest point via the now-used normal route of the northwest ridge.
1855
Charles Hudson, John Birkbeck, Edward J.W. Stephenson, Christopher und James G. Smyth
DUFOUR LACE
West Ridge (AD-)
After several attempts in the years before 1855 to climb the highest point in the German-speaking Alps and the highest point in Switzerland, which reached within 100 meters of the summit as the crow flies, it was a rope party led by Charles Hudson who finally reached the summit on August 1, 1855. Ten years later, Hudson would also be one of the first climbers of the Matterhorn, but he suffered a fatal accident on the descent. Unlike previous attempts, the five-person rope party did not take the route over the Silver Saddle, but instead ascended the now-common route from the saddle to the west ridge to the summit.
1858
J. Llewellyn Davies, Johannes Zumtaugwald, Johann Kronig, Hieronymous Brantschen
DOM
Festi Ridge (AD-, II)
In the summer of 1858, Davies spent his vacation in the Matter Valley and had already climbed several smaller peaks with his guide, Johannes Zumtaugwald. To conclude, he wanted to climb a previously unclimbed peak. Zumtaugwald enlisted Kronig as a second guide. In Randa, the clergy student Brantschen joined them at short notice, and the four set off from Randa's village square at 2:10 a.m. By 8 a.m. they had already reached the Festijoch, where they took a short rest. Crossing the Festigrat, they finally reached the summit at 11 a.m. in perfect autumn weather. They were back in Randa at 4:20 p.m., a remarkable achievement at that time, considering that nowadays the Dom is almost exclusively climbed in two days.
1859
Charles Joseph Sainte-Claire Deville, Daniel, Emmanuel und Gaspard Balleys, Basile Dorsaz
GRAND COMBIN
Meitin Ridge (AD,III)
Like the Monte Rosa massif, the Grand Combin is not a single peak that bears this name, but rather a massif consisting of several peaks. The highest point, the Combin de Grafeneire (4,314 meters), was first reached by a five-man rope team consisting of Deville, the three Balleys brothers, and Dorsatz. Two years earlier, the Englishman William Mathews had already climbed the Combin de la Tsessette (4,134 meters). Not much is known about these first ascents. However, it is a fact that the Cabane de Panossière, built subsequently by the SAC in 1881 on the eastern edge of the Corbassière glacier at 2,770 meters, made tours in this area much easier and thus led to the creation of new classic routes.
1859
Francis Tuckett, Johann Josef Benet, Peter Boren, Victor Tairraz
ALETSCHHORN
Southwest (AD-,II)
From Fiesch, the roped party of the first ascents (consisting of Francis Tuckett with his mountain guides Johann Benet, Peter Boren, and Victor Tairraz) climbed over the Eggishorn onto the Aletsch Glacier. They set up their bivouac on the Mittelaletsch. Tuckett carelessly left the wine he had brought with the mountain guides in a cave usually used by hunters for bivouacking, while he himself slept outdoors. In the morning, he heard loud singing coming from the cave. The mountain guides were apparently extremely fond of the wine, completely drunk, and unable to climb the Aletschhorn. A rest day was necessary. On the third day, the time had come. The roped party continued up over the Mittelaletsch Glacier to the Aletschjoch and along the firn ridge to the narrow northeast ridge, which led them to the summit of the Aletschhorn. The route is still the shortest and technically easiest way to the summit, although you have to make do without any huts (and today there was also no bivouac box, which was destroyed by an avalanche).
1860
J.J. Cowell, W. Dundas, M. Payot, J. Tairraz
GRAN PARADISO
Normal route (F)
The first ascent of the Gran Paradiso took place on September 4, 1860, by JJ Cowell and W. Dundas, accompanied by their two guides M. Payot and J. Tairraz. They too chose the easiest and still common route for their ascent, via the Gran Paradiso Glacier, which has few crevasses. In 1856, the Italian King Vittorio Emanuele II recognized the beauty of this area and declared it a royal reserve. In 1922, King Emanuele III donated the land to the Italian state to protect the ibex, and the Gran Paradiso National Park became one of Italy's first national parks. Today, the Gran Paradiso is considered a classic of the Western Alps due to its low technical difficulties.
1861
Johann Josef Benet, Ulrich Wenger, John Tyndall
WEISSHORN
East Ridge (AD, III)
For many, the Weisshorn is the most beautiful mountain in the Alps. The first ascent of the "Diamond of Valais," as it is also called, was achieved on August 19, 1861, by the two mountain guides Johann Josef Benet and Ulrich Wenger, together with the Irish surveyor and natural scientist John Tyndall, who also made a name for himself through several ascents on the Matterhorn. The Irish-Grisons-Valais rope party reached the summit of the Weisshorn via the east ridge, the standard route still used today. The two other prominent ridges were also first climbed at the end of the 19th century: the challenging south ridge (Schaligrat) in 1895, and the traverse of the north ridge in 1898.
1861
Michel Croz, Jean Baptiste Croz, William Mathews, Fredrik Jacomb
MONTE VISO
South Face (III)
The Italians must have been deeply stung when, on August 30, 1861, the Englishman William Mathews, together with Fredrik Jacomb and the experienced mountain guide Michel Croz and his brother Jean Baptiste, succeeded in the first ascent of their iconic mountain. Moreover, in his report, Mathews had nothing good to say about those who considered the mountain inconquerable. If one believes his accounts, the biggest problem wasn't the climb itself, but the question of what to bring along as provisions: "In Casteldelfino, we had to make do with veal alone; Michel Croz himself had to search the stables in search of eggs, and we were initially refused wine because there weren't enough bottles to refill it on site." The tour itself is only briefly described in the report.
1861
Leslie Stephen, Peter und Christian Michel, Ulrich Kaufmann
SCHRECKHORN
Südwestgrat (AD+, III)
The most challenging four-thousander in the Bernese Alps was first climbed on August 16, 1861, by Peter and Christian Michel, Leslie Stephen, and Ulrich Kaufmann. After several attempts by various alpinists via the Lauteraarfirn, the north ridge, and the south ridge, it was clear that the Schreckhorn could probably only be conquered from the southwest side. So the four bivouacked on the Kastenstein, a large gneiss block that forms a small cave, and reached the Schreckfirn the following day via the route they would normally take from then on. They then climbed the south face along the large couloir to the ridge, and in just a few steps, to the summit.
1862
Jean Baptiste Croz, Johann Kronig, Thomas Stuart Kennedy, William Wigram
DENT BLANCHE
South ridge “Wandfluegrat” (AD,III)
The summit of the Dent Blanche was first climbed in 1862 via what is still the easiest ascent today—and therefore also the usual normal route—via the south ridge, also known as the Wandflue Ridge. The two mountain guides, Jean Baptiste Croz and Johann Kronig, led the two British guests, Thomas Stuart Kennedy and William Wigram, to the 4,356-meter-high summit on July 18. The remaining ridges were then climbed a few years later, with the east ridge ("Viereselsgrat") in 1882 and the technically even more challenging west ridge ("Ferpéclegrat") in 1889. The first ascent of the north face, which is still considered one of the wildest adventures in Valais, was not achieved until 1966.
1864
Florence Crawford Grove, Melchior Anderegg, Leslie Stephen, Jakob Anderegg
ZINALROTHORN
North Ridge (AD, III)
The first ascent of the Zinalrothorn was achieved by Leslie Stephen and Florence Crawford Grove, with guides Melchior and Jakob Anderegg, on August 22, 1864, from Zinal via the north ridge. Although the southeast ridge would have been somewhat easier and is now the standard route, they decided to attempt it from the north side. Sir Leslie Stephen had previously been among the first ascents of the Schreckhorn and is considered one of the defining mountaineers of the "golden age of mountaineering." He was also a co-founder of the Alpine Club and served as its president for several years.
1864
Adolphus Warburton Moore, Horace Walker, Edward Whymper, Christian Almer, Michel Croz
BARRE DES ÉCRINS
West Ridge (PD+, II)
The Barre des Écrins was also climbed during the "Golden Age of Alpinism" on June 25, 1864, by the renowned English mountaineers Edward Whymper, Horace Walker, and Adolphus Warburton Moore, who often spent months trekking through the Alps and making first ascents of the highest peaks. Together with the equally famous mountain guides Michel Croz and Christian Almer, who helped many English mountaineers complete their dream routes, they climbed the Barre des Écrins directly, which has now been replaced by the West Ridge as the normal route. The Barre des Écrins holds a special significance among the four-thousand-meter peaks of the Alps, as it is the westernmost of all and the only one in the Dauphiné.
1865
Edward Whymper, Michel Croz, Charles Hudson, Lord Francis Douglas, D. Robert Hadow, Peter Taugwalder Vater und Sohn
MATTERHORN
Hörnligrat (AD+, III+)
Since 1857, unsuccessful attempts had been made to make the first ascent of the Matterhorn - mostly from the Italian side via the Lion Ridge. Whymper had also failed there seven times, including surviving a 60 m fall. So he wanted to persuade his friend Jean-Antoine Carrel to try from Zermatt. When Whymper learned in 1865 that Carell had set out again on the Lion Ridge without telling him, he put together a party for an immediate attempt via the Hörnligrat. The seven (Edward Whymper, Michel Croz, Charles Hudson, Lord Francis Douglas, D. Robert Hadow, and Peter Taugwalder, father and son) finally reached the summit on July 14, 1865. Carell and his party spotted them further down on Pic Tyndall. Whymper was the first to reach the summit because he cut himself free from the rope shortly before reaching the summit. However, tragedy struck during the descent: the first four members of the rope team (Croz, Hadow, Hudson and Douglas) fell to their deaths above the so-called shoulder on the north face.
1877
Emmanuel Boileau de Castelnau, Pierre Gaspard (father and son)
MEIJE
Traverse (D-, IV-)
The Meije has an exciting first ascent history. After several failed attempts, the Grand Pic was finally reached for the first time on August 16, 1877, by Emmanuel Boileau de Castelnau and his father and son guides, Pierre Gaspard. The three climbed via the Promontoire Ridge to the Glacier le Carré and then via the southwest face of the summit structure to the highest point. Thus, the Meije became one of the few high French peaks to be first climbed by local guides. Another milestone was the first longitudinal traverse from the Grand Pic to the Pic Central by Ludwig Purtscheller and the brothers Emil and Otto Zsigmondy on July 27, 1885. Just a few days later, Emil Zsigmondy fell to his death while attempting to climb the south face of the Meije. With him perished one of Austria's most famous mountaineers.
