Lyskamm (german: Liskamm, formerly ''Lyskamm'', literally "comb of the Lys"), also known as Silberbast (literally "silver
bast"), is a
mountain
A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...
() in the
Pennine Alps
The Pennine Alps (german: Walliser Alpen, french: Alpes valaisannes, it, Alpi Pennine, la, Alpes Poeninae), also known as the Valais Alps, are a mountain range in the western part of the Alps. They are located in Switzerland (Valais) and Italy ( ...
lying on the border between
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
and
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. It consists of a five-kilometre-long ridge with two distinct peaks. The mountain has gained a reputation for seriousness because of the many
cornices
In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...
lying on the ridge and the frequent avalanches, thus leading to its nickname the ''Menschenfresser'' ("people eater").
Geography
Despite a prominence of well over 300 metres, Lyskamm is sometimes considered to be part of the extended
Monte Rosa
:
, other_name = Monte Rosa massif
, translation = Mount Rose
, photo = Dufourspitze (Monte Rosa) and Monte Rosa Glacier as seen from Gornergrat, Wallis, Switzerland, 2012 August.jpg
, photo_caption = Central Mon ...
group (in fact the
Dufourspitze
, it, Punta Dufour, rm, Piz da Dufour
, translation = Peak Dufour, Highest Peak, Large Horn
, photo = Monte Rosa summit.jpg
, photo_size =
, photo_caption = From the peak to the southeast towards Italy, the Dunantspi ...
is only 107 metres higher). But visually Lyskamm is a huge massif, composed of two summits: the Eastern Lyskamm and the lower
Western Lyskamm
The Western Lyskamm (german: Liskamm Westgipfel) is a subsidiary peak of the Lyskamm
Lyskamm (german: Liskamm, formerly ''Lyskamm'', literally "comb of the Lys"), also known as Silberbast (literally "silver bast"), is a mountain () in the Pe ...
, separated by a long ridge, both lying on the border between the Swiss canton of
Valais
Valais ( , , ; frp, Valês; german: Wallis ), more formally the Canton of Valais,; german: Kanton Wallis; in other official Swiss languages outside Valais: it, (Canton) Vallese ; rm, (Chantun) Vallais. is one of the cantons of Switzerland, 26 ...
(north) and the Italian region of the
Aosta Valley
, Valdostan or Valdotainian it, Valdostano (man) it, Valdostana (woman)french: Valdôtain (man)french: Valdôtaine (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title = Official languages
, population_blank1 = Italian French
...
(south).
The northern side of the mountain is an impressive ice-covered wall, rising up from the
Grenzgletscher
The Gorner Glacier (german: Gornergletscher) is a valley glacier found on the west side of the Monte Rosa massif close to Zermatt in the canton of Valais, Switzerland. It is about long (2014) and wide. The entire glacial area of the glacier rela ...
. The gentler southern side rises only a few hundred metres above the
glacier
A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its Ablation#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often Century, centuries. It acquires dis ...
of the same name:
Lysgletscher.
Climbing history
The eastern and higher of the two peaks is 4,527 m, and was first ascended in 1861 from the Lisjoch up the east ridge by a 14-man team (seven Englishmen, one Scotsman, and six Swiss guides) led by J. F. Hardy and including
William Edward Hall
William Edward Hall (22 August 183530 November 1894) was an English lawyer and mountaineer who published some influential works on international law.
Early life
Hall was the only child of William Hall, a doctor and descendant of a junior bran ...
. Others in the party included A. C. Ramsey, F. Sibson, T. Rennison, J. A. Hudson, C. H. Pilkington and R. M. Stephenson. The guides were Franz Josef Lochmatter (1825-1897) of
St. Niklaus
:''See Saint Nicholas (disambiguation) for disambiguation.''
St. Niklaus (french: Saint-Nicolas) is a village and a municipality in the Mattertal, part of the district of Visp in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.
History
St. Niklaus is first ...
in the canton Valais, J.-P. Cachet, K. Kerr, S. Zumtaugwald, P. and J.-M. Perren.
[Helmut Dumler,Willi P. Burkhardt, ''Les 4000 des Alpes'', ]
![Liskamm north](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Liskamm_north.jpg)
The ridge as a whole (as well as the western summit) was first traversed three years later by
Leslie Stephen
Sir Leslie Stephen (28 November 1832 – 22 February 1904) was an English author, critic, historian, biographer, and mountaineer, and the father of Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell.
Life
Sir Leslie Stephen came from a distinguished intellectua ...
, Edward N. Buxton,
Jakob Anderegg
Jakob Anderegg (11 March 1829, in Oberwil im Simmental – 17 September 1878, in Meiringen) was a Swiss mountain guide and the first ascensionist of many prominent mountains in the western Alps during the golden and silver ages of alpinism.
...
and Franz Biener.
[
The first attempt to climb the imposing north-east face was made in 1880 by the brothers Kalbermatten. They were carried down to the glacier by an avalanche but they survived the accident. On 9 August 1890, L. Norman-Neruda with guides ]Christian Klucker
Christian Klucker (28 September 1853 – 21 December 1928) was a Swiss mountain guide who made many first ascents in the Alps, particularly in the Bernina Range, the Bregaglia and the Pennine Alps.
Amongst his first ascents were:
:*''Gurgel'' ( ...
and J. Reinstadler were the first to reach the summit (Lyskamm East) by the north face, by what is now known as the "Norman-Neruda route".[ The first winter ascent of this route was made on 11 March 1956 by C. Fosson and O. Frachey.][Collomb, Robin G., ''Pennine Alps Central'', London: Alpine Club, 1975, p. 92]
In 1907, Geoffrey Winthrop Young
Geoffrey Winthrop Young (25 October 1876 – 8 September 1958) was a British climber, poet and educator, and author of several notable books on mountaineering.
Young was born in Kensington, the middle son of Sir George Young, 3rd Baronet (see Y ...
and his guide traversed the whole ridge two times. Young wanted to traverse the ridge from the Nordend
Nordend (meaning ''north end'' in German) is a northern peak of the Monte Rosa Massif. Nordend is the fourth highest peak of the massif, after the Dufourspitze (4,634 m), the Dunantspitze (4,632 m) and the Grenzgipfel (4,618 m). See also
*List o ...
to the Breithorn
The Breithorn (German for literally "broad horn"; 13,661 ft. or 4,164 m) is a mountain range of the Pennine Alps with its highest peak of the same name (but also called ''Breithorn (Western Summit)''), located on the border between Switzerland a ...
. They started from Riffelalp at midnight and finished the traverse of the Monte Rosa massif at midday. But after the traverse of the Lyskamm and Castor the guide was too tired. Young, who was very disappointed, convinced him to go back by the Lisjoch before descending to Zermatt, implying a second traverse on the Lyskamm. Young even wanted to continue back to the Nordend but his guide refused to prolong the journey.[
]
Climbing routes
The normal route starts from the Lisjoch, which can be accessed from the Gnifetti Hut (3,650 m) or from the Monte Rosa Hut
The Monte Rosa Hut (german: Monte Rosa Hütte) is a mountain hut located near Zermatt on the Monte Rosa massif (up to ) and above the Grenzgletscher (Border Glacier) sitting on a glacier-free rocky part called ''Untere Plattje'' at an altitude of ...
(2,883 m). The route follows the route taken by the first ascensionist.
The mountain is often climbed as a traverse from the Feliksjoch (West), to the Lisjoch (East) or vice versa. The traverse consists mostly of a narrow, snow-covered ridge, with some scrambling over rocks. In good conditions, this route is fairly easy and objectively safe, however in bad snow conditions and/or bad visibility, the ridge can be challenging because of large, sometimes double, cornices, mainly on the southern side of the ridge.
Bibliography
* W. E. Hall (1870) "The fatal accident on the Lyskamm", ''Alpine Journal'', 5: 23–32
See also
*List of Alpine four-thousanders
This list tabulates all of the 82 official mountain summits of or more in height in the Alps, as defined by the International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (UIAA). All are located within France, Italy or Switzerland, and are often refer ...
References
External links
Lyskamm on Peakbagger.com
- Czech and English
{{Portal bar, Mountains, Switzerland
Alpine four-thousanders
Mountains of the Alps
Mountains of Aosta Valley
Mountains of Valais
Pennine Alps
Italy–Switzerland border
International mountains of Europe
Mountains of Switzerland
Four-thousanders of Switzerland