220px, Christian Almer Christian Almer, Ulrich Almer, Meta Brevort, William Coolidge vers 1874

Christian Almer (29 March 1826 – 17 May 1898) 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 Internati ...

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 ascent 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 e ...

ionist 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 t ...

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, ...

during the golden and

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

ages of alpinism. Almer was born and died in

Grindelwald Grindelwald is a village and municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Berne. In addition to the village of Grindelwald, the municipality also includes the settlements of Alpiglen, Burglauenen, Grund, Itram ...

Canton of Bern The canton of Bern or Berne (german: Kanton Bern; rm, Chantun Berna; french: canton de Berne; it, Canton Berna) is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. Its capital city, Bern, is also the ''de facto'' capital of Switzerland. ...

Climbing career

Almer gave his dog ''Tschingel'' to the 17-year-old

W. A. B. Coolidge William Augustus Brevoort Coolidge (August 28, 1850 – May 8, 1926) was an American historian, theologian and mountaineer. Life Coolidge was born in New York City as the son of Frederic William Skinner Coolidge, a Boston merchant, and Elisa ...

after a failed attempt on the Eiger.

Golden wedding anniversary

On June 20 and 21, 1896, Almer and his wife Margaritha ("Gritli") celebrated their golden (50th) wedding anniversary by climbing the Wetterhorn: "The oldest of the Grindelwald guides, Christian Almer, well known to Alpine climbers, celebrated his golden wedding on Sunday in a novel way. Christian is seventy-four years of age, and his wife seventy-five. Accompanied by two of their younger sons and by the village doctor, the sturdy old couple made the ascent of the Wetterhorn, 12,150 ft high. Starting at a very early hour on Sunday morning, they reached the Wetterhorn Hut in the evening, their safe arrival there being made known to their fellow villagers by a signal light, which, shone in response to the many rockets fired by the sympathetic villagers below. Here the veteran climbers and their companions passed the night, and starting soon after midnight for the remainder of the ascent, they reached the summit at half-past six on Monday morning. A cloudless sky and magnificent panorama of the Oberland rewarded their courage and endurance. The aged couple returned safely to Grindelwald on Monday evening."

First ascents

*1857 Mönch (

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= , ...

) *1858

Eiger The Eiger () is a mountain of the Bernese Alps, overlooking Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen in the Bernese Oberland of Switzerland, just north of the main watershed and border with Valais. It is the easternmost peak of a ridge crest that exte ...

(

) *1862 Gross Fiescherhorn (

) *1864 Barre des Ecrins ( Dauphiné Alps) *1865 Aiguille Verte (

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 indepen ...

) *1865 Grand Cornier (

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 ...

) *1865 Pointe Whymper on the

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 Ho ...

(

) *1865 Nesthorn (

) *1867 Kleines Schreckhorn (

) *1870 Ailefroide ( Dauphiné Alps) *1874 Mont Thuria, (

Graian Alps The Graian Alps (french: Alpes grées ; it, Alpi Graie ) are a mountain range in the western part of the Alps. Etymology The name ''Graie'' comes from the ''Graioceli'' Celtic tribe, which dwelled in the area surrounding the Mont Cenis pass and ...

) *1876 Les Droites west summit (

) *1877 Pic Coolidge ( Dauphiné Alps) *1878 Aiguille Arves Méridonale ( Dauphiné Alps) *1878 Aiguille de l'Epaisseur ( Dauphiné Alps) *1878 Les Bans ( Dauphiné Alps) *1879 Aiguille de Chambeyron (Cottian Alps) *1881 Visolotto (

Cottian Alps The Cottian Alps (; french: Alpes Cottiennes ; it, Alpi Cozie ) are a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps. They form the border between France (Hautes-Alpes and Savoie) and Italy (Piedmont). The Fréjus Road Tunnel and Fréjus Ra ...

) *1884 Pointe de Soliette (

)

Death and Grave

Christian Almer died in Grindelwald on 17 May 1898. His gravestone reads: Hier ruht der besten Führer einer CHRISTIAN ALMER geb. 29. März 1826. gest. 17. Mai 1898 Galt’s Berge zu bezwingen,/ Gab’s keinen bessern Mann;/ Wer mit dir stritt und siegte,/ Dich nie vergessen kann./ Jetzt darfst du auf den Zinnen/ Der ewige Berge stehn./ Wohin dich Christus führte./ Dort Freund auf Wiedersehn/ Deine alten treuen Fahrgenossen. [Here rests one of the best guides CHRISTIAN ALMER born March 29, 1826, died May 17, 1898. Were mountains to be conquered,/ There wasn't a better man;/ Whoever struggled with you and won,/ Can never forget you./ Now you may stand on the summits/ Of the eternal mountains./ Where Christ led you./ There friend goodbye./ Your old, loyal companions.]

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Almer, Christian 1826 births 1898 deaths People from Interlaken-Oberhasli District Alpine guides Swiss mountain climbers People from Grindelwald