Mountains in Switzerland

It's a cliché: The Swiss live in an alpine hut and grew up with cows and goats. In other words: a prejudice against a lumberjack. And even if some people don't want to admit it, tourists often discover and see more of Switzerland than the Swiss themselves. We want to change that: Become a tourist in your own country.

Of all the mountains in Switzerland, the Matterhorn is one of the most famous. And it also has one of the highest peaks in the country. But first there are other mountains that are even higher.

Which mountain is the highest in Switzerland?

When it comes to the highest mountain in Switzerland, the Dufourspitze wins. This monumental mountain range reaches a majestic height of 4634 meters above sea level and towers above all other mountains in the Swiss Alps. The mountain is part of the Monte Rosa massif, which extends into Italy.

So it is not necessarily the highest mountain in Switzerland. Because only the Dufourspitze is in Switzerland. The mountain itself is shared with Italy.

Discover the 10 top high mountains in Switzerland

Whether the Matterhorn, the cathedral or the Finsteraarhorn - Switzerland has many magnificent mountains to offer. But which are the highest peaks in the country? Here are the ten highest.

1. Dufour Peak

The Dufourspitze (Italian: Punta Dufour, French: Pointe Dufour, Romansh: Piz da Dufour) in the Valais Alps is, at 4,634 meters above sea level, the highest peak in Switzerland and the entire German-speaking region.

Location

The summit belongs to the Monte Rosa Massif group on the border with Italy. The summit of the mountain is about 160 meters from the national border in Swiss territory. The entire massif is generally considered a border mountain between Italy and Switzerland, so the place of the highest mountain that lies entirely within Swiss territory goes to the cathedral (which is also in the Valais Alps).

History

Originally the peak was called the Gornerhorn (strong or large) and in Italy the Cima Alta (Hohe Spitze or Hochspitz). Only in the 19th century In the 19th century, the topography showed that the Gornerhorn and the Hochspitz were identical. The Federal Council renamed it in 1863 after the Swiss general and cartographer Guillaume-Henri Dufour (1787-1875). Dufour was the editor of the first accurate map of Switzerland, the Dufour Map, which bears his name. The old name Gornerhorn comes from the Walser family.

The first ascent took place on January 1st.August 1855 by a rope team led by Charles Hudson. The other members of the rope group were Edward J. W Stephenson, Christopher and James G. Smyth brothers and John Birkbeck. The mountain guides Ulrich Lauener from Lauterbrunnen and Matthäus and Johannes Zumtaugwald from Zermatt led the British. Charles Hudson died ten years later while descending the first ascent of the Matterhorn.

Routes

The classic route on the east side was first climbed in 1872 by the Austrian Gabriel Spechtenhauser, the Swiss Ferdinand Imseng, the Englishmen William and Richard Pendlebury and Charles Taylor and the Italian Giovanni Oberto.

The starting point for the climb from the Dufourspitze on the Swiss side via the normal route was the Monte Rosa Hut at 2883 m altitude.

2. Dom

The cathedral, located in the Valais Alps, is the highest mountain with a height of 4545 meters above sea level. The entire base is in Switzerland.

Location

The cathedral is part of the Mischabel Group, which is the second highest mountain range in Switzerland after Monte Rosa. It is named after the canoeist Joseph Anton Berchtold from Sion. It is also sometimes claimed that Berchtold called the Mischabel group "Dom" in connection with a study he himself prepared (1833). However, it is doubtful whether this was done in honor of his own status.

Ascent

The cathedral was opened on the 11th. September 1858 by Johannes Zumtaugwald, J. Llewellyn Davies, Hieronymous Brantschen and Johann Kronig first climbed via the northwest ridge.

The normal route leads from Randa (1407m) in the Mattertal initially on safe paths and paths to the Domhütte (2940m). The actual high-altitude hike begins here. The Festijoch can be reached via the Festigletscher, from where the somewhat difficult Festigrat leads to the summit. The normal ascent follows the easier but objectively more dangerous route (crevasses) over the Hohberg glacier. Both ascents lead over a narrow and exposed spruce ridge to the summit.

The cathedral is also a ski mountain; on which the first ski ascent took place on the 18th. July 1917 by the Englishman Sir Arnold Lunn with leader Joseph Knubel.

3. Liskamm

The Liskamm, formerly also called Lyskamm, is the mountain in the Valais Alps, on the eastern side of the Matterhorn and western side of the Monte Rosa group. The mighty ridge is several kilometers long, with the highest point being the east peak (4533 m) and the lower west peak (4th).479 m) and the distance between these two peaks is more than a kilometer. The summit ridge crowns the almost 1.000 m high, ice-covered northeast face, the highest point of the Gornerrat (3110 m), where the Gornergrat cable car stops.

On the south side, the summit ridge with a rocky flank rises 500 m above the heavily rugged Lys glacier, which leads down into the Gressoney valley.

The first ascent took place on the 19th. August 1861 by J. F Hardy, William Edward Hall, J. A Hudson, A. C Ramsay, C. H Pilkington, T. Rennison, R. M Stephenson F. Sibson under the direction of Franz Josef Lochmatter, Jean-Pierre Cachat, Stefan Zumtaugwald, Karl Herr, the gatekeeper Josef-Marie Perren and Peter Perren.

The normal ascent takes place via the sides:

• from Lisjoch at 4152 m. over the eastern ridge to the east summit
• over the southern ridge to the east summit
• from Felikjoch at 4063 m. over the southwest ridge to the west summit, then over the longer ridge to the east summit.

These climbs are not technically difficult, but they are dangerous and long because this ridge is usually heavily overgrown. Several mountaineers have died here due to their weakness, earning the Liskamm the nickname "Man-Eater".

In 1921, Liskamm became a film set when the mountain film pioneer Arnold Fanck made the documentary “In the Struggle with the Mountain” with Ilse Rohde and Hannes Schneider. Fanck himself and Sepp Allgeier were behind the camera. Paul Hindemith wrote the music for this silent film under the pseudonym Paul Meran.

4. Weisshorn (Valais)

The Weisshorn is a pyramid-shaped mountain in the Valais Alps at an altitude of 4.505 meters, which consists of three sharp edges. It is the most important peak of the Weisshorn group.

History of the ascent

The first ascent of the Weisshorn came on the 19th. August 1861 by Johann Josef Benet, who is known as Bennen von Steinhaus VS, Ulrich Wenger and John Tyndall over the eastern ridge, today's normal route.

The southwest ridge (Schaligrat), the most difficult of the three Weisshorn ridges, was completed on January 2nd. September 1895 from the St. Gallen mountain guides Ambros Imboden and Josef Marie Biner were the first to climb. The northern ridge eventually became 21st. Climbed for the first time by Burgener and Biehly in September 1898.

On the three main sides of the Weisshorn, the mountain is often of poor quality. Therefore, the flanks are rarely climbed due to the risk of falling rocks and ice. Only the Younggrat, a ridge that leads down from the Gendarme on the north ridge to the west, is a reasonably safe route. It is named after the British mountaineer Geoffrey Winthrop Young, who made the first ascent on December 7th. September 1900 with the mountain guides Benoît and Louis Theytaz. The famous Munich mountaineer Georg Winkler died in August 1888 during his first attempt to climb the western flank. Winkler remained untraceable until 1956, when the Weisshorn glacier uncovered his body.

The 3D model of the Weisshorn

A 3D model of the Weisshorn, on a scale of 1:625, is in the mountain guide museum in St. Niklaus Dorf. The Weisshorn is considered one of the prettiest mountains in the Mattertal and is particularly popular with mountaineers.

Metal cross on the summit of the Weisshorn 1978

For the 100th The Mattertal mountain guides celebrated the birthday of Franz Lochmatter, who fell to his death in 1933 while descending from the Weisshorn summit over the eastern ridge at the Great Gendarme, today's Lochmatter Tower, on Saturday, 23. September 1978, a metal cross on the summit of the Weisshorn. A blessing of the cross and memorial service took place on Sunday, March 24th. September 1978, in the Weisshornhütte.

Helicopter accident 1983

On the night of the 31st In July 1983, Air Zermatt searched the Weisshorn south face in an Alouette III helicopter. Two climbers were reported missing. A flight attendant and a mountain guide were in the helicopter with the pilots. The helicopter crashed on the Schali glacier and was destroyed. The flight attendant died from her injuries. The pilot and the mountain guide survived the accident with serious injuries. The two mountaineers were only later found dead.

5. Matterhorn

The Matterhorn (Italian Monte Cervino or Cervino, French Mont Cervin or Le Cervin, German Valais German Hore or Horu) is one of the highest mountains in the Alps with a height of 4478 meters. The Matterhorn is one of the most famous mountains in the world because of its impressive shape and history as a mountaineering mountain. In Switzerland, this mountain is a landmark and one of the most popular and most photographed tourist attractions.

The mountain is located in the Valais Alps, between Breuil-Cervinia and Zermatt. The north, east and west sides are on Swiss territory, the south side on Italian territory.

History of the name

The mountain peaks are usually named later, while the passes and the Alps below are named earlier. In 1545, Johannes Schalbetter called today's Theodul Pass "Mons Siluius" (translated Salasserberg) or Augsttalberg in German. Augsttal is an allusion to the Aosta Valley (Latin: Augusta Praetoria Salassorum), the valley of Aosta.

"Siluius" was then probably etymologically distorted by the so-called Latin "silvius" and "silvanus" in the French and Italian "Cervin/Cervin(i)". In 1581 the Matterhorn was mentioned first as Mount Cervino, then as Mons Silvius and Mons Silvanus. In 1682, Anton Lambien named it the present-day “Matterhorn Matter Dioldin” (Matterhornspitze) to distinguish it from the pass of the same name, which existed until the middle of the 19th century. century "Matterjoch" was called.

The mountain is also known to the locals simply as ds Hore ("hornet", Zermatt dialect).

Geology

The Matterhorn is a cirque and its typical shape was created by the erosion and weathering of the glaciers during the ice ages. The Matterhorn is part of the Dent-Blanche nappe of the lower Eastern Alps, i.e.H a fragment of Eastern Alpine rock pushed westwards onto the semi-open ceiling of the Western Alps. The rock layer of the Matterhorn on the lower side, which extends to the Hörnlihyttan, is Penninic, i.e.H western alpine. The comparatively small horn itself rests on this base and belongs to the Dent-Blanche cover belongs to the Arolla series of ortogneiss and metagabbros and the upper part belongs to the Valpelline series of highly metamorphic paragneiss of the Dent-Blanche cover. In summary, it can be said that the Matterhorn consists of two different rock layers lying diagonally on top of each other. Today's Matterhorn Glacier only formed again during the worst period of migration, after the best period of Roman times.

A special feature is the characteristic “Matterhorn cloud”. It is an exceptional example of the type of cloud that meteorologists call a flag cloud. It rises like a mighty flag on the leeward side of the mountain and accompanies it almost constantly. The most likely explanation for its formation is that the Matterhorn rises like a tower over the surrounding mountains, so that wind vortices form at its summit, which carry moisture from the valley to the upper side, where condensation and cloud formation occur. After reaching the summit, the cloud is captured by the horizontal branch of the descending vortex, creating the typical plume shape (descending vortex hypothesis).

Since 1857, many unsuccessful attempts to climb the Matterhorn have been organized, mainly from the Italian side. In 1862, John Tyndall, accompanied by mountain guides Anton Walter, Johann Josef Benet, Jean-Jacques and Jean-Antoine Carrel, climbed the southwest axis, today's Tyndall summit, for the first time. It seemed impossible to continue the climb over the Cresta del Leone.

For Edward Whymper, the first climber of the Matterhorn, Lion's Ridge still seemed impossible. He had already failed seven times and survived a fall of over 60 meters. Whymper tried to persuade Jean-Antoine Carrel to climb the Zermatt Wall. Carrel insisted on climbing from Italy.

In July 1865, Whymper accidentally learned from the innkeeper in Breuil Cervinia that Carrel had set off for the Cresta del Leone - without informing Whymper. Whymper felt betrayed and ran to Zermatt to put together a group to immediately tackle the ascent of the Hörnligrat. At the 14th. In July 1865, Whymper's group of seven achieved the first ascent. The group climbed through the axis of the Hörnli ridge and made their way to the north face further up, in the area where today's fixed ropes are located. Edward Whymper was the first to reach the summit. He let go of the rope before the summit and ran forward. He was followed by the mountain guide Reverend Charles Hudson, Michel Croz (from Chamonix), Lord Francis Douglas, the Zermatt mountain guides Peter Taugwalder senior and Peter Taugwalder junior and D. Robert Hadow (all English). Carrel and the group spotted them much further down Tyndall Peak. While descending from the first ascent, the first four members of the group (Hadow, Croz, Hudson and Douglas) fell to their deaths while still at the top of the "axis" of the north face. On Saturday, 15th July 1865, Sunday 16. July 1865 and the next few days, Josef Marie Lochmatter was with rescue teams to provide first aid to the victims of the first ascent. Three of the dead were on the 19th. Found by a rescue team on the Matterhorn glacier in July. The body of Lord Francis Douglas was never found.

On the 17th In July, Carrel, accompanied by Amé Gorret and Jean Baptiste Bich, also managed to climb the Cresta del Leone, which began at the northern end of the Italian axis on the upper west side and ended on the Zmutt ridge (the so-called Carrel Gallery).

The anniversary of the first ascent of the Matterhorn is celebrated. Swiss television broadcast this on the 14th. In July 1965, on the occasion of the centenary, there was a live international ascent of the Matterhorn with the participation of mountain journalists from the RAI and the BBC. On the 30th In June 1965, Swiss television broadcast the documentary film “Bitter Victory: The Matterhorn Story,” which was produced especially for the occasion. On the occasion of the 150th anniversary on the 14th In July 2015, a countdown clock was installed on Bahnhofplatz in Zermatt, and in December 2014 an anniversary meeting point, “Matterhornplatz”, was launched in the middle of the town.

On the 22nd In July 1871, just 6 years after Whymper, British mountaineer Lucy Walker became the first woman to climb the Matterhorn.

Routes

By far the most popular climbing route is Hörnligrat in Zermatt. This is the so-called normal route, i.e.H for the easiest climb. At 4003 m above sea level. M, northeast of the summit, is the Solvay Hut with ten rescue camps, guarded by the Hörnli Hut, which serve as a bivouac site for emergencies such as cave-ins or weather delays. There are other climbing routes on the southwest ridge over the Tyndallspitze (also known as the Lion Ridge or Italian Way), on the northwest ridge and on the southeast ridge. There is also an ascent route through the forbidden north face, sometimes chosen by specialists such as Walter Bonatti.

6. Dent Blanche

The Dent Blanche is a temporarily ice-free peak in the Valais Alps, in the southern part of the canton of Valais, about 10 km west of Zermatt. The Dent Blanche is approx. 4357 meters above sea level on the 16th. highest peaks in the Alps. The language border between French and German in Upper Valais runs through the Dent Blanche.

Name

It is very likely that the name Dent Blanche ("White Tooth") is due to a confusion with the Dent d'Hérens that a monk made some time ago while copying a map. This theory is supported, on the one hand, by the fact that the Dent d'Hérens is only visible in a few places from the Val d'Hérens and, on the other hand, by the fact that the Dent Blanche has much fewer white fir areas than the Dent d'Hérens.

The German name Dent Blanche is no longer used today. However, the name “ibex horn” has historical evidence.

Location

From the summit of the imposing pyramid of Dent Blanche, four ridges run exactly in the four cardinal directions, while the southern ridge is less steep and gradually slopes down to the Wandfluh ridge. Together with its neighboring peaks to the east, the Ober Gabelhorn and the Zinalrothorn, the Dent Blanche forms the southern end, which is part of the valley system of the Val d'Anniviers. The Val d'Hérens begins to the west of the mountain, and in the valley at the foot of the Dent Blanche is the Zmutt glacier, where the meltwater flows towards Zermatt and then through the Mattertal.

The northeastern flank of Dent Blanche is frozen almost to the summit. On all other flanks the glacier ice does not exceed 3700 m. On the western side of the Dent Blanche there are two short glaciers with a maximum length of 1 to 2 km: the Dent Blanche and the Manzettes glaciers. At the foot of the southeast flank lies the Schönbiel Glacier, a side glacier of the Zmutt Glacier. To the northeast, in the direction of Val de Zinal, the Grand Cornier Glacier turns around and joins other glaciers to form the Zinal Glacier.

Geology

From a geological point of view, the Dent Blanche, together with the neighboring peaks (including the Matterhorn), forms a rock face in the Eastern Alps. This isolated remnant of the tectonic mantle, otherwise found almost exclusively in the Eastern Alps, was originally part of the African plate. The so-called Dent Blanche mantle consists of metamorphic rocks (gneiss and gabbro) and stands in sharp contrast to the greenish ophiolites of the peninsula, which are located beneath the Dent Blanche mantle and are exposed in valleys.

Supporting points

In the south of the Dent Blanche, at an altitude of 3507 m, is the “Cabane de la Dent Blanche”, a hut belonging to the Swiss Alpine Club (SAC). This can be reached from Val d'Hérens via the Manzettes glacier. From there the normal route leads over the south ridge to the summit.

First ascent

The mountain was born on the 18th. July 1862 by William and C. Wigram and Thomas Stuart Kennedy, with the guides Johann Kronig and Jean-Baptiste Croz, climbed over the south ridge ("Wandfluhgrat").

7. Grand Combin

The Grand Combin is the steep mountain range in the western Valais Alps, on the southwestern part of the canton of Valais, Switzerland. It is one of the highest peaks in the Alps and consists of three main peaks, named from west to east as Combin de Valsorey (4183 m), Combin de Grafeneire (4314 m) and Combin de la Tsessette (4134 m).

Geography

The Grand Combin is the mountain range that is bounded to the west by the Val d'Entremont and the Grand Bernard pass, to the north and east by the Val de Bagnes with Mauvoisin basin, to the southeast by the Fenêtre de Durand pass and in The southern side is bordered by the Val d'Ollomont, which belongs to the Aosta Valley.

On the east side of the Combin de la Tsessette there is a steep descent of over 1200 m to the “Glacier de la Tsessette”, the 2 km long glacier above the Mauvoisin Basin. To the south are the Sonadon Glacier and the Croissant Glacier. The latter, a floating band glacier, flows into the 5 km long valley glacier of Mont Durand, from which the water also feeds the Mauvoisin basin. North of the Grand Combin is the Corbassière Glacier.

In addition to the main peaks, the massif also includes the Petit Combin at 3663 m.u M, and the Combin de Corbassière at 3716 m.uM, west of the Corbassière glacier and the Tournelon Blanc (3702 m above sea level. M) in the East. The southern foothills of the Grand Combin (Grande Tête de By, 3587 m; Mont Vélan, 3727 m; Mont Avril, 3347 m; all also glaciers) form the transition from Italy to Switzerland.

Geology

Geologically speaking, the Grand Combin massif is part of the Pennine Mountains. The crystalline rocks of the Pennine Mountains were folded under high pressure when the Alps were formed. The massif therefore consists mainly of gneiss.

Routes

The gneiss of the Grand Combin is mostly flat and brittle, and the rock faces are dangerous because of the risk of falling rocks. The advancing glaciers threaten Saracens Falls. Therefore, not all routes are free from objective dangers.

The normal route leads from the “Cabane de Valsorey” of the Swiss Alpine Club, which is located at 3030 m on the western slope, over the northwest slope to the summit of the Combin de Grafeneire. Another climb leads over the southwest slope. In between lies the western ridge (the Meitin ridge, which is also the starting point for the Cabane de Valsorey).

On the Italian side there is an ascent via the Franco Chiarella hut on the Amianthe. From the Chiarella hut on Amianthe it is possible to ski the southeast ridge of the Combin de Grafeneire.

The Grand Combin can also be skied over the couloir in winter and is the highlight of the Haute Route and from Chamonix to Zermatt.

Petit Combin, Combin de Corbassiere and Grand Combin can be climbed on foot as part of a multi-day hike, the "Tour des Combins".

History of the ascent

On the 14th In August 1851, Gottlieb Samuel Studer became the first person to climb the Combin de Corbassière at 3716 m. In 1857 the Englishman William Mathews climbed on the 30th. July 1859 the “Combin de Grafeneire” by Charles Joseph Sainte-Claire Deville (with Emmanuel and Gaspard Balleys, Daniel and Basile Dorsaz) and on 15. August 1861 the “Mont Avril at 3716 m. At 6. On July 1867, the Tournelon Blanc at 3702 m was climbed by Hoffmann-Merian, and on July 16. September 1872 the Combin de Valsorey for the first time from the south side by J.H Isler and J. Gillioz climbed. The Panossière hut, built in 1881 by the Swiss Alpine Club on the eastern edge of the Corbassiè Re glacier at an altitude of 2770 m, made hiking in this area easier.

8. Finsteraarhorn

The Finsteraarhorn is 4274 m. the highest mountain in the Bernese Alps, in the canton of Bern and Switzerland, to the east of Lötschberg and Simplon. It is also the highest point in the Rhine area. It is close to the border, between the cantons of Valais and Bern, in the middle of the Bernese Alps. The Finsteraarhorn is located far away from settlements and traffic routes, is surrounded in every direction by glaciers and fairly high mountains and is therefore difficult to reach and see.

The Finsteraarhorn has a sharp, shark-like shape and appears as a steep horn towards the attacking ridge from the northwest or southeast. In its width it forms a wide triangle.

Geomorphologically, the shape of the rock is characterized by a niche. Geologically, it belongs to the Aare massif and consists of “amphibolite”.

The normal ascent - from the Grimsel Pass - leads from the Finsteraarhornhütte along the southwest face to the first projection of the northwest ridge (Hugisattel 4088 m) and from there along the ridge (initially on rock or snow on the southwest flank) to the summit (WS I-II ).

On the 16th August 1812 the imposing peak was first climbed by Joseph Bortis, Arnold Abbühl and Alois Volken. They probably reached the summit via the now largely melted glacier on the eastern flank of the southeast ridge. However, it is not certain that these three people actually reached the main peak. However, it is proven that Johann Währen and Jakob Leuthold reached the summit on the 10th. August 1829 on today's normal route. They were the companions of the glaciologist Franz Joseph Hugi, who had to stay behind in a saddle that was now named after him because of a foot injury.

9. Zinalrothorn

The Zinalrothorn is 4221 m. high mountain near Zermatt in the Valais Alps. Unlike many other peaks of this height, the Zinalrothorn is a pure rock peak with three ridges of solid rock.

The name comes from the place “Zinal in the Val d'Anniviers”. However, until the advent of Alpine tourism, the mountain was called Moming, after the Moming glacier that originates on the northern slope. The Zinalrothorn is 4 km south of the Weisshorn (4505 m). From the summit you have a magnificent view of the Matterhorn and the Monte Rosa massif.

Florence Crauford Grove and Leslie Stephen climbed together with the guides Jakob and Melchior Anderegg from Zinal for the first time on the 22nd. August 1864 over the north ridge.

The three ridges offer climbing of medium difficulty. In addition to the first ascent route over the north ridge, there are also the slightly less demanding southeast ridge and the Rothorn ridge, which is one of the most beautiful rock climbs in the Zermatt region. The starting point of the southeast ridge is the Rothornhütte at 3198 m and the starting point of the north ridge is the Mountethütte at 2886 m. The southwest ridge can be reached from the Rothorn or from the Mountethütte.

10. Alphubel

The Alphubel is the 4206 m high mountain in the Valais Alps. The mountain, which belongs to the Allalin group, lies south of Mischabel, the ridge between the Saas Valley and the Matter Valley in the communities of Saas-Fee and Täsch.

Geography

North of the Alphubel lies the highest peak, the Täschhorn, the southernmost peak of the Mischabel, from which the Mischabeljoch is separated, while in the south the ridge is less clear over the Alphubeljoch (3,771 m) to the Feechopf (3,888 m) and runs to the Allalinhorn. While the terrain to the west partially slopes down into the Mattertal, the eastern side is flat and pleasant compared to its neighbors. The characteristically flat Alphubel summit is largely covered with spruce trees and, in addition to the main summit, has a north summit at 4188 m, which, however, hardly protrudes above the flat summit.

The Alphubel sends an ice-free rocky ridge in the west, the Rotgrat, up to the Täschhütte at 2701 m. altitude, while the north-south main ridge and an unnamed ridge to the northeast are largely ice-covered. Due to the altitude and the relatively gentle slope, there are several glaciers in the area around the Alphubel summit: northwest or To the west of the summit lies the Weingarten glacier, which has now dissolved into three ice masses and reaches a height of around 3100 m. The vineyard lake of the same name lies on the slope of its glacier. The entire eastern flank is surrounded by the Fee Glacier, one of the largest glaciers in the region, which covers several square kilometers and extends almost into the valley basin near Saas-Fee. To the southwest is the Alphubelgletscher, the tiny glacier on this peak.

History of the ascent

Leslie Stephen and T.W Hinchliff climbed it for the first time on the 9th. August 1860. Leslie Stephen and Hinchliff were traveling with mountain guides Melchior Anderegg, Franz Andenmatten and Peter Perren.

Routes

The morphology of Alphubel and its proximity to Saas Fee cable cars make it one of four relatively easy climbs in the Swiss Alps. However, all ascents have the character of a high-altitude hike with all the objective dangers that such an excursion entails.

The normal route starts from the Längflue hut at 2867 m. height, above Saas Fee and leads over the flat but very rugged Fee glacier to the summit. The climb takes 4-5 hours and is rated WS on the SAC elevation scale.

Another option with Saas-Fee as the valley station is an alpine hike from Mittelallalin at 3457 m. height, which can be easily reached with the Metro Alpin. From there the partly rocky climb leads over Feejoch to 3826 m. Höhe, Alphubeljoch and Feechopf to the summit (also WS, 4 hours).

From the west, the route leads from Täsch via Täschalp and to the Täschhütte and then over the Alphubel and Alphubeljoch glaciers along the main ridge ("ice nose") that runs in a south-south-east direction to the summit. This route takes approximately 5 hours and is also rated WS.

Huts and bivouac sites:

• Täsch Hut
• Längflue Hut
• Britanniahütte, via Mittelallalin
• maybe Kinhütte
• Bivouac on the Mischabeljoch between Alphubel and Täschhorn