The Swiss Alpine Club (german: Schweizer Alpen-Club, french: Club Alpin Suisse, it, Club Alpino Svizzero, rm, Club Alpin Svizzer) is the largest mountaineering club in

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 ...

. It was founded in 1863 in

Olten Olten (High Alemannic: ''Oute'') is a town in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland and capital of the district of the same name. Olten's railway station is within 30 minutes of Zürich, Basel, Bern, and Lucerne by train, and is a rail hub o ...

and it is now composed of 111 sections with 160,000 members (2020). These include the Association of British Members of the Swiss Alpine Club.

History

The Swiss Alpine Club was the first Alpine club founded in continental Europe after the foundation of the

Alpine Club The first alpine club, the Alpine Club, based in the United Kingdom, was founded in London in 1857 as a gentlemen's club. It was once described as: :"a club of English gentlemen devoted to mountaineering, first of all in the Alps, members of whi ...

(1857) in London. One of the founders and the first president of the Club was Dr. Melchior Ulrich; other members were

Gottlieb Samuel Studer Gottlieb Samuel Studer (5 August 1804, Langnau im Emmental – 22 December 1890, Vienna) was a Swiss mountaineer, notary public and draughtsman. Studer was the son of Sigmund Gottlieb Studer. After the death of his father, the Studer family mo ...

and Dr. Simler. The inaugural meeting was held in

. With the increasing number of climbers, steps had to be taken to make the approach to the mountains a little less complicated and exhausting. Until

mountain hut A mountain hut is a building located high in the mountains, generally accessible only by foot, intended to provide food and shelter to mountaineers, climbers and hikers. Mountain huts are usually operated by an Alpine Club or some organization d ...

s were built, there had been no choice for the climbers other than sleeping in the highest chalets or in a Bivouac shelter under some overhanging rocks and, in both cases, firewood had to be carried up. The Swiss Alpine Club during the first twenty-five years of its existence contributed to build thirty-eight

huts A hut is a small dwelling, which may be constructed of various local materials. Huts are a type of vernacular architecture because they are built of readily available materials such as wood, snow, ice, stone, grass, palm leaves, branches, hid ...

, of which the oldest was the Grünhorn hut on the

Tödi The Tödi (), is a mountain massif and with the mountain peak Piz Russein the highest mountain in the Glarus Alps and the highest summit in the canton of Glarus, Switzerland. It is located on the border between the cantons of canton of Graubünden ...

(1863), followed by the Trift hut, near the

Dammastock The Dammastock (3,630 m) is the highest mountain in the Urner Alps in Switzerland and is part of the Winterberg massif. Its summit ridge forms the border between the cantons of Uri and the Valais. It is the highest summit in the canton of Uri ...

(1864). The

Matterhorn hut 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 ...

was built in 1865, the

Mountet The Grand Mountet Hut (2,886 m) (French: ''Cabane du Grand Mountet'') is a mountain hut located in the Pennine Alps near Zinal in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It is used at a start point for the ascents of Besso, Zinalrothorn, Ober Gabe ...

in 1871, the

Weisshorn Hut The Weisshorn Hut (german: Weisshornhütte) is a mountain hut of the Swiss Alpine Club, located above Randa in the canton of Valais. It is located on the southern slopes of the Weisshorn, at a height of 2,932 metres above sea level, near the bottom ...

in 1876, the Concordia on the Aletsch glacier and the Boval hut in 1877.Claire Eliane Engel, ''A history of mountaineering in the Alps'', 1950, p. 175

Timeline

*1863: Foundation of the club, after the

(1857) and the Austrian Alpine Club (1862). *1863: Construction of the first mountain hut: the Grünhornhütte *1864: First publication a journal which will be named later, ''Die Alpen'', ''Les Alpes'' *1900: The SAC is composed of 43 sections and 6000 members *1905: Opening of the Swiss Alpine Museum in Bern *1907: Women are not allowed in the club *1963: The club is constituted of 44'500 members (men only) *1977: Foundation of the central office in Bern *1980: Fusion with the Women Swiss Alpine Club (founded in 1918). The total effectives reach 75‘600 members. *1992: The first cultural prize of the SAC is attributed *1994: The SAC officially promotes competition climbing *1996: Abolition of the central committee *2006: The SAC receives the Milestone tourism prize

References

External links

Official website
*
Association of British Members of the Swiss Alpine Club
Tourism in Switzerland Mountaineering in the Alps Climbing organizations Hiking organizations 1863 establishments in Switzerland Alpine clubs Mountaineering in Switzerland Swiss Alps {{switzerland-stub

History

Timeline

See also

References

External links