Melchior Anderegg (28 March 1828 – 8 December 1914), from Zaun,

Meiringen Meiringen () is a municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. Besides the village of Meiringen, the municipality includes the settlements of Balm, Brünigen, Eisenbolgen, Hausen, Prasti, ...

, was a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland *Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri *Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia *Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports * Swiss Internation ...

mountain guide A mountain guide is a specially trained and experienced professional mountaineer who is certified by local authorities or mountain guide associations. They are considered to be high-level experts in mountaineering, and are hired to instruct or ...

and the

first ascensionist In mountaineering, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in guide books) is the first successful, documented attainment of the top of a mountain or the first to follow a particular climbing route. First mountain ascents are notable because they ent ...

of many prominent

mountains 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 area, and is usually higher th ...

in the western

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

during the golden and silver ages of alpinism. His clients were mostly British, the most famous of whom was

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 intellect ...

, the writer, critic and mountaineer; Anderegg also climbed extensively with members of the Walker family, including

Horace Walker Horace Walker (1838–1908) was an English mountaineer who made many notable first ascents, including Mount Elbrus and the Grandes Jorasses. Alpinism Born in 1838, Walker was the son of Liverpool lead merchant and mountaineer Francis Walker ...

and Lucy Walker, and with

Florence Crauford Grove Florence Crauford Grove (12 March 1838 – 17 August 1902) was an English mountaineer and author, sometimes known as F. Crauford Grove. He led the first expedition to ascend the higher summit of Mount Elbrus and was at one time president o ...

. His cousin

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 alp ...

was also a well-known guide.

Alpine guide

First ascents by Melchior Anderegg *

Wildstrubel The Wildstrubel () is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the border between the Swiss cantons of Bern and Valais. It forms a large glaciated massif, about 15 km wide, extending between the Rawil Pass and the Gemmi Pass. Along with the Muvera ...

, 3,243 m (

Bernese Alps , topo_map= Swiss Federal Office of Topography swisstopo , photo=BerneseAlps.jpg , photo_caption=The Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau , country= Switzerland , subdivision1_type= Cantons , subdivision1= , parent= Western Alps , borders_on= , ...

), 11 September 1858 *

Rimpfischhorn The Rimpfischhorn (4,199 m) 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 ...

, 4,199 m (

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 Ital ...

), 9 September 1859 *

Alphubel The Alphubel (4,206 m) is a mountain of the Swiss Pennine Alps, located between the valleys of Zermatt and Saas in the canton of Valais. It is part of the Allalin Group, a subgroup of the Mischabel Group, which culminates at the Dom (4,545 m). T ...

, 4,206 m (Pennine Alps), 9 August 1860 *

Blüemlisalp The Blüemlisalp is a massif of the Bernese Alps, in the territory of the municipalities of Kandersteg and Reichenbach im Kandertal. Its main peaks are: *Blüemlisalphorn (3,661 m) *Wyssi Frau (3,648 m) *Morgenhorn (3,623 m) The entire massif ...

horn, 3,664 m (Bernese Alps), 27 August 1860 * Monte Disgrazia, 3,678 m (

Bregaglia Range The Bregaglia Range (commonly the Bregaglia) 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 Bre ...

), 23 August 1862 *

Dent d'Hérens The Dent d'Hérens (4,174 m) 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 (2,781 m) is used for the normal route. Naming The mou ...

, 4,171 m (Pennine Alps), 12 August 1863 *

Parrotspitze The Parrotspitze (in Italian, the Punta Parrot) (4,432 m) 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, ...

, 4,432 m (Pennine Alps), 16 August 1863 *

Balmhorn The Balmhorn (3,698 m) is a mountain in the Bernese Alps in Switzerland. Its summit ridge lies on the border between the cantons of Berne and the Valais. It was first climbed by Frank Walker, Horace Walker and Lucy Walker, with guides Jakob ...

, 3,698 m (Bernese Alps), 21 July 1864 *

Zinalrothorn The Zinalrothorn (4,221 m) 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''. When it was first climbed in 1864 the mo ...

, 4,221 m (Pennine Alps), 22 August 1864 *

Grandes Jorasses The Grandes Jorasses (4,208 m; 13,806 ft) is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif, on the boundary between Haute-Savoie in France and Aosta Valley in Italy. The first ascent of the highest peak of the mountain (''Pointe Walker'') was by ...

, 4,208 m (

Mont Blanc Massif The Mont Blanc massif (french: Massif du Mont-Blanc; it, Massiccio del Monte Bianco) is a mountain range in the Alps, located mostly in France and Italy, but also straddling Switzerland at its northeastern end. It contains eleven major indep ...

), 30 June 1868 Other noteworthy climbs by Melchior Anderegg *

Mont Blanc Mont Blanc (french: Mont Blanc ; it, Monte Bianco , both meaning "white mountain") is the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe, rising above sea level. It is the second-most prominent mountain in Europe, after Mount Elbrus, and ...

, 4,809 m, via the ''Bosses du Dromedaire'' (1859) *

via the

Dôme du Goûter The Dôme du Goûter (4,304 m) is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif. It is a shoulder of Mont Blanc, whose summit lies two kilometres to the south-east. The Dôme is traversed on ascents of Mont Blanc via the ''Bosses'' route. The summit of t ...

(1861) *Solo reconnaissance up the Zmuttgrat of the

Matterhorn The (, ; it, Cervino, ; french: Cervin, ; rm, Matterhorn) is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the main watershed and border between Switzerland and Italy. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the ...

(Pennine Alps) (1863) *

via the Brenva face (1865) *Winter traverse of the

Finsteraarhorn The Finsteraarhorn () is a mountain lying on the border between the cantons of Bern and Valais. It is the highest mountain of the Bernese Alps and the most prominent peak of Switzerland. The Finsteraarhorn is the ninth-highest mountain and thi ...

, 4,273 m (Bernese Alps) (1866) * Civetta, 3,220 m (

Dolomites The Dolomites ( it, Dolomiti ; Ladin: ''Dolomites''; german: Dolomiten ; vec, Dołomiti : fur, Dolomitis), also known as the Dolomite Mountains, Dolomite Alps or Dolomitic Alps, are a mountain range located in northeastern Italy. They form par ...

) (1867) *Winter ascent of the Plattenhörner (1869) *First winter ascent of the

Galenstock The Galenstock (3,586 m) 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. It was first climbed by Eduard Desor Eduard Model Accessories is a Cz ...

, 3,586 m (

Urner Alps The Uri Alps (also known as ''Urner Alps'', german: Urner Alpen) are a mountain range in Central Switzerland and part of the Western Alps. They extend into the cantons of Obwalden, Valais, Bern, Uri and Nidwalden and are bordered by the Bernes ...

) (1877)

Wood carver

Anderegg was also a professional

wood carver Wood carving is a form of woodworking by means of a cutting tool (knife) in one hand or a chisel by two hands or with one hand on a chisel and one hand on a mallet, resulting in a wooden figure or figurine, or in the sculptural ornamentation ...

and owned a shop in

Zermatt Zermatt () is a municipality in the district of Visp in the German-speaking section of the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It has a year-round population of about 5,800 and is classified as a town by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO). ...

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 guides. 160px, Portrait of Melchior Anderegg at sixty-eight (from a photograph by C. Myles Mathews)

References

External links

Photograph of Melchior Anderegg with Leslie and Julia Stephen, 1889
1828 births 1914 deaths Alpine guides People from Interlaken-Oberhasli District Swiss mountain climbers {{climbingbio-stub