The golden age of alpinism was the decade in

mountaineering Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, a ...

between

Alfred Wills Sir Alfred Wills (11 December 1828 – 9 August 1912) was a judge of the High Court of England and Wales and a well-known mountaineer. He was the third President of the Alpine Club, from 1863 to 1865. Early life Wills was the second son of Wi ...

's ascent of the

Wetterhorn The Wetterhorn (3,692 m) is a peak in the Swiss Alps towering above the village of Grindelwald. Formerly known as Hasle Jungfrau, it is one of three summits on a mountain named the "Wetterhörner", the highest of which is the Mittelhorn (3,704 ...

in 1854 and

Edward Whymper Edward Whymper FRSE (27 April 184016 September 1911) was an English mountaineer, explorer, illustrator, and author best known for the first ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865. Four members of his climbing party were killed during the descent. Wh ...

ascent Ascent or The Ascent may refer to: Publications * ''Ascent'' (magazine), an independent, not-for-profit magazine * ''Ascent'' (journal), a literary journal based at Concordia College * ''Ascent'' (novel), by Jed Mercurio * '' Times Ascent'', a ...

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 th ...

in 1865, during which many major peaks in the

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 ...

saw their

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 en ...

Prominent figures

With its beginning slightly predating the formation 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 whic ...

in London in 1857, the golden age was dominated by British alpinists and their Swiss and French guides. Prominent figures of the period include

Lord Francis Douglas Lord Francis William Bouverie Douglas (8 February 1847 – 14 July 1865) was a novice British mountaineer. After sharing in the first ascent of the Matterhorn, he died in a fall on the way down from the summit. Early life Born in Scotland at ...

Paul Grohmann Paul Grohmann (12 June 1838 – 29 July 1908) was an Austrian Mountaineering, mountaineer and writer. Biography Grohmann was a pioneer in exploring technically challenging mountains and is thought to have made more first ascents of Eastern Alps ...

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 of ...

Charles Hudson Charles Hudson may refer to: * Sir Charles Hudson, 1st Baronet (1730–1813), English baronet * Charles Hudson (American politician) (1795–1881), American historian and politician, Congressman in U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts * ...

, E. S. Kennedy, William Mathews, A. W. Moore, John Ball,

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 ...

Francis Fox Tuckett Francis Fox Tuckett FRGS (10 February 1834 – 20 June 1913)D.W.F., 'Obituary: Francis Fox Tuckett' in ''The Geographical Journal'', Vol. 42, No. 2 (August 1913), pp. 206–207 was an English mountaineer. He was vice-president of the Alpine Club ...

John Tyndall John Tyndall FRS (; 2 August 1820 – 4 December 1893) was a prominent 19th-century Irish physicist. His scientific fame arose in the 1850s from his study of diamagnetism. Later he made discoveries in the realms of infrared radiation and the p ...

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

. Well-known guides of the era include

Christian Almer 220px, Christian Almer Christian Almer (29 March 1826 – 17 May 1898) was a Swiss mountain guide and the first ascentionist of many prominent mountains in the western Alps during the golden and silver ages of alpinism. Almer was born and died ...

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 ...

Melchior Anderegg Melchior Anderegg (28 March 1828 – 8 December 1914), from Zaun, 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. His clients were m ...

Johann Joseph Bennen Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name '' Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning "Yahweh is Gracious ...

( fr),

Peter Bohren Peter Bohren (June 20, 1822 – July 4, 1882) was a Swiss mountain guide from Grindelwald. Peter Bohren made three first ascents in the Bernese Alps. On August 11, 1858, he jointly made the first ascent of the Eiger (3967 m above sea level), clim ...

Jean-Antoine Carrel Jean-Antoine Carrel (1829 – August 1891) was an Italian mountain climber and guide. He had made climbs with Edward Whymper and was his rival when he attempted to climb the Matterhorn for the first time. Whymper ultimately succeeded in making t ...

Michel Croz Michel Auguste Croz (22 April 1830 in Le Tour, Chamonix valley – 14 July 1865, on the Matterhorn) was a French mountain guide and the first ascentionist of many mountains in the western Alps during the golden age of alpinism. He is chiefly rem ...

Ulrich Kaufmann Ulrich Kaufmann ( – ) was a Swiss mountain guide. He was born and died in Grindelwald. He was among the first Westerners to visit the mountain ranges of New Zealand and the Himalayas. Biography In August 1857, Kaufmann participated in the ...

and Johannes Zumtaugwald. Lucy Walker, sister of Horace, attained some notable firsts during the period, including the first ascent of the

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 A ...

(1864), and later several first female ascents. In the early years of the " golden age", scientific pursuits were intermixed with the sport. More often than not, the mountaineers carried a variety of instruments up the mountain with them to be used for scientific observations. The physicist

was the most prominent of the scientists. Among the non-scientist mountaineers, the literary critic

was the most prominent. In the later years of the "golden age", the non-scientist pure sportsmen came to dominate the London-based Alpine Club and alpine mountaineering overall.Claire Eliane Engel (1950), ''A History of Mountaineering in the Alps'', chapter VII.

First ascents in the golden age

* 1854 Königspitze, Ostspitze (Monte Rosa),

Strahlhorn The Strahlhorn (4,190 m) is a mountain of the Swiss Pennine Alps, located south of Saas-Fee and east of Zermatt in the canton of Valais. It lies on the range that separates the Mattertal from the Saastal and is located approximately halfway betw ...

* 1855

Mont Blanc du Tacul Mont Blanc du Tacul (4,248 m) is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif of the French Alps situated midway between the Aiguille du Midi and Mont Blanc. The official first ascent of Mont Blanc du Tacul was by a guideless party comprising Charles Hu ...

, Westspitze (Monte Rosa),

Weissmies The Weissmies is a mountain in the Pennine Alps in the canton of Valais in Switzerland near the village of Saas-Fee. It is the easternmost four-thousander of its range. Geography The Weissmies is located on the main Alpine chain, on a ma ...

* 1856

Aiguille du Midi The Aiguille du Midi () is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif within the French Alps. It is a popular tourist destination and can be directly accessed by cable car from Chamonix that takes visitors close to Mont Blanc. Cable car The idea fo ...

Allalinhorn The Allalinhorn () is a mountain in the Pennine Alps in Switzerland. It lies between Zermatt and Saas-Fee in the canton of Valais, and is part of the Mischabel range, which culminates at the Dom (4,545 m). It was first climbed by London ba ...

Lagginhorn The Lagginhorn (4,010 m) is a mountain in the Pennine Alps in Switzerland. It lies a few kilometres north of the slightly higher Weissmies and also close to the slightly lower Fletschhorn on the north. The Lagginhorn is the last four-thousa ...

* 1857

Mönch The Mönch (, German: "monk") at is a mountain in the Bernese Alps, in Switzerland. Together with the Eiger and the Jungfrau, it forms a highly recognisable group of mountains, visible from far away. The Mönch lies on the border between the c ...

, Monte Pelmo * 1858 Dom,

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 extends a ...

, Hinterer Brochkogel,

Nadelhorn The Nadelhorn (4,327 m) is a mountain in the Pennine Alps in Switzerland. It is the highest point on the Nadelgrat, a high-level ridge running roughly north–south above the resort of Saas-Fee to the east, and the Mattertal to the west. Its th ...

Piz Morteratsch Piz Morteratsch (3,751 m) is a mountain in the Bernina Range in Switzerland. It is bordered on the east by the Morteratsch Glacier and on the south-west by the Tschierva Glacier. One of the easier of the higher mountains in the range to climb, ...

, Vorderer Brochkogel,

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 Muveran ...

* 1859

Aletschhorn The Aletschhorn () is a mountain in the Alps in Switzerland, lying within the Jungfrau-Aletsch region, which has been designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The mountain shares part of its name with the Aletsch Glacier lying at its foo ...

Bietschhorn The Bietschhorn (3,934 m) is a mountain in canton Wallis to the south of the Bernese Alps in Switzerland. The northeast and southern slopes of the mountain are part of the Jungfrau-Aletsch Protected Area (formerly ''Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietsch ...

Grand Combin The Grand Combin is a mountain massif in the western Pennine Alps in the canton of Valais. At a height of the summit of ''Combin de Grafeneire'' is one of the highest peaks in the Alps and the second most prominent of the Pennine Alps. The Grand ...

, Grivola,

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 asce ...

Hochalmspitze The Hochalmspitze (3,360 metres above the Adriatic (11,020 ft)) is located east of Mallnitz in the Austrian state of Carinthia. It is sometimes called "Tauern Queen" (german: Tauernkönigin) as a counterpart to the "Tauern King", the Grossg ...

Monte Leone Monte Leone is the highest mountain of the Lepontine Alps and is located on the border between Switzerland and Italy. The mountain stands on the extreme west of the Lepontine Alps, a few kilometres east of Simplon Pass. Etymology ''Leone'' i ...

* 1860

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 ...

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 massi ...

horn, Civetta,

Gran Paradiso , photo = Gran_Paradiso.jpg , photo_caption = The Gran Paradiso , elevation_m = 4061 , elevation_ref =Geoportale IGM owww.pcn.minambiente.it/ref> , prominence_m = 1879 , prominence_ref = , range = Graian Alps , parent_peak = , listing = ...

Grande Casse The Grande Casse (3,855 m) is the highest mountain of the Vanoise Massif in the Graian Alps in the region of Savoie, France. It is located in the heart of the Vanoise National Park, near the village of Pralognan-la-Vanoise, which is about 25&n ...

* 1861 Castor, Fluchthorn,

Lyskamm Lyskamm (german: Liskamm, formerly ''Lyskamm'', literally "comb of the Lys"), also known as Silberbast (literally "silver bast"), is a mountain () in the Pennine Alps lying on the border between Switzerland and Italy. It consists of a five-kilo ...

Mont Pourri Mont Pourri (3,779 m) is a mountain in the Vanoise Massif in the Graian Alps. It is located in the Vanoise National Park, nearby Les Arcs Les Arcs () is a ski resort located in Savoie, France, in the Tarentaise Valley town of Bourg-Sai ...

Monte Viso Monte Viso or Monviso (; oc, Vísol; Piedmontese: ''Brich Monviso'' or ''Viso'') is the highest mountain of the Cottian Alps. It is located in Italy close to the French border. Monte Viso is well known for its pyramid-like shape and, because it ...

Schreckhorn The Schreckhorn (4,078 m) is a mountain in the Bernese Alps. It is the highest peak located entirely in the canton of Berne. The Schreckhorn is the northernmost Alpine four-thousander and the northernmost summit rising above 4,000 metres in Eu ...

Weisshorn The Weisshorn ( German, lit. ''white peak/mountain'') is a major peak of Switzerland and the Alps, culminating at above sea level. It is part of the Pennine Alps and is located between the valleys of Anniviers and Zermatt in the canton of Val ...

Weißkugel Weißkugel (; ) or Weißkogel is the second highest mountain in the Ötztal Alps and the third highest mountain in Austria. Featuring many glaciers, it lies on the border between Austria and Italy. The easiest way to climb it is over its sout ...

* 1862

Dent Blanche The Dent Blanche is a mountain in the Pennine Alps, lying in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. At -high, it is one of the highest peaks in the Alps. Naming The original name was probably ''Dent d'Hérens'', the current name of the nearby D ...

, Dent Parrachée,

Doldenhorn The Doldenhorn is a mountain of the Bernese Alps, overlooking Kandersteg in the Bernese Oberland. On its north side is Lake Oeschinen. See also *List of mountains of Switzerland This article contains a sortable table of many of the major mou ...

Gross Fiescherhorn Grosses Fiescherhorn is a mountain peak of the Bernese Alps, located on the border between the cantons of Bern and ValaisValais, halfway between the Mönch and the Finsteraarhorn. At above sea level, its summit culminates over the whole Fiesc ...

Monte Disgrazia Monte Disgrazia or Munt Des'giascia (3,678 m) is a mountain in the Bregaglia range in the Italian Alps. It is the highest peak in the Val Masino group, situated south of the Bernina Range. It has five glaciers and five wild ridges and is a de ...

, Ramolkogel,

Täschhorn The Täschhorn (4,491 m) is a mountain in the Pennine Alps in Switzerland, lying south of the Dom within the Mischabel range. The first ascent of the mountain was by John Llewelyn Davies and J. W. Hayward with guides Stefan and Johann Zumta ...

, Zuckerhütl * 1863

Antelao Monte Antelao ( Cadorino dialect: Nantelòu) is the highest mountain in the eastern Dolomites (a section of the Alps) in northeastern Italy, southeast of the town of Cortina d'Ampezzo, in the region of Cadore. The Monte Antelao is an ultra-prom ...

Bifertenstock , photo= Bifertenstock3.jpg , photo_size= 285 , elevation_m= 3419 , elevation_ref= , prominence_m= 385 , prominence_ref=Swisstopo maps , listing= Alpine mountains above 3000 m , parent_peak= Tödi , map= Switzerland , map_caption= Lo ...

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 mo ...

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, ...

Piz Zupò Piz Zupò (3,996 m) is a mountain in the Bernina Range of the Alps, located on the border between Switzerland and Italy. It lies between the valleys of Morteratsch (Graubünden) and Malenco (Lombardy). Piz Zupò is the second highest peak in th ...

Tofane Tofane is a mountain group in the Dolomites of northern Italy, west of Cortina d'Ampezzo in the province of Belluno, Veneto. Most of the Tofane lies within ''Parco naturale delle Dolomiti d'Ampezzo'', a nature park. Peaks The highest peaks of t ...

* 1864

Adamello Adamello (in local dialect ''Adamèl'') is a mountain in Lombardy, Italy. With an elevation of , it is the second highest peak of the Adamello-Presanella Alps. It is located in Valcamonica, Lombardy (Province of Brescia). Its glacier, measure ...

Aiguille d'Argentière The Aiguille d'Argentière () is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif on the border between France and Switzerland. The first ascent of the mountain was by a British party comprising Edward Whymper and A. Reilly with guides Michel Croz, M. Payo ...

, Aiguille de Tré la Tête,

Barre des Écrins The Barre des Écrins () is a mountain in the French Alps with a peak elevation of . It is the highest peak of the Massif des Écrins and the Dauphiné Alps and the most southerly alpine peak in Europe that is higher than 4,000 metres. It is 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. ...

Gross Wannenhorn The Grosses Wannenhorn is a 3906-metre mountain in the Bernese Alps, in the Swiss canton of Valais near the village of Fiesch. It is part of the Walliser Fiescherhörner. The mountain separates the Aletsch Glacier to the west from the Fiescher ...

, Marmolata,

Mont Dolent Mont Dolent () is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif and lies on the border between Italy, Switzerland and France. As a mountain, Mont Dolent is regarded as the tripoint between Italy, Switzerland and France, although the tripoint itself lies ...

, Pollux,

Presanella Presanella is a mountain in the Adamello-Presanella range of the Italian Alps of northern Italy. Presanella has an elevation of 3,558 meters and is located in the Adamello Brenta National Park within the Trentino province of Italy. Climbing ...

Sorapiss Sorapiss, also referred to as Sorapis or Punta Sorapiss, is a mountain in the Dolomites within the Veneto region of northern Italy. Situated in the ''comune'' of Cortina d'Ampezzo, it has an elevation of . In its vicinity is a mountain pass of th ...

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 ...

* 1865

Aiguille Verte The Aiguille Verte (; ), which is French for "Green Needle", is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif in the French Alps. It was first climbed on 29 June 1865 by Edward Whymper, Christian Almer and Franz Biner, a fortnight before the fateful fir ...

Grand Cornier The Grand Cornier is a mountain in the Pennine Alps in Switzerland. It lies north from the Dent Blanche. The first ascent of the mountain was made via the east ridge by Edward Whymper, Christian Almer, Michel Croz and F. Biner on 16 June 18 ...

, Großer Möseler,

Hochfeiler The Hochfeiler ( it, Gran Pilastro; german: Hochfeiler) is a mountain, 3,510 metres high, and the highest peak in the Zillertal Alps on the border between Tyrol, Austria, and South Tyrol, Italy. The normal route to the summit Hochfeiler (Gran ...

, La Ruinette,

Monte Cristallo Cristallo () (tedesco: Kristallspitze) is a mountain massif in the Italian Dolomites, northeast of Cortina d'Ampezzo, in the province of Belluno, Veneto, northern Italy. It is a long, indented ridge with four summits higher than 3,000 metres. T ...

Ober Gabelhorn The Ober Gabelhorn (4063 m) is a mountain in the Pennine Alps in Switzerland, located between Zermatt and Zinal. Geography The Ober Gabelhorn lies in the Swiss canton of Valais at the southern end of the Zinal valley (part of the Val d'Annivi ...

Piz Buin Piz Buin () is a mountain in the Silvretta range of the Alps on the border between Austria and Switzerland. It forms the border between the Swiss canton of Graubünden and the Austrian state of Vorarlberg and is the highest peak in Vorarlberg. ...

Piz Roseg Piz Roseg (pronounced as ''peetse rawzech'') is a mountain of the Bernina Range, overlooking the Val Roseg in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. There are two summits on its main ridge: :*the south-east and higher summit (3,937 m) :*the north-w ...

References

{{reflist

Sources

* Hermann Alexander Berlepsch (1861)
''The Alps; or, Sketches of life and nature in the mountains''
(English translated from German by Leslie Stephen). * Trevor Braham (2004), ''When the Alps Cast Their Spell: Mountaineers of the Golden Age of Alpinism'' (publisher: In Pinn) * Ronald Clark (1953)
''The Victorian Mountaineers''
(220 pages). * John Tyndall, (1871)
''Hours of Exercise in the Alps''
(475 pages). Alpine Club (UK)

Alpinism Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, a ...

History of the Alps History of mountaineering Mountaineering in the Alps Mountaineering in the United Kingdom