Christian Almer

During his lifetime, Christian Almer, like his contemporary Melchior Anderegg from Meiringen, was considered one of the best of the first generation of mountain guides.

B. Coolidge, Adolphus Warburton Moore, Leslie Stephen, and Gottlieb Samuel Studer.

His first guiding activity was a failed attempt to climb the Jungfrau, which he tried to reach on 13 September 1851 from Grindelwald via the Mönch.

Four years later, he and Charles Barrington with Peter Bohren were the first people to stand on the Eiger summit, which at that time was considered as unclimbable as the Matterhorn in the Canton Valais.

He celebrated his golden wedding anniversary with his wife, two sons, and a daughter on 22 June 1896 on the Wetterhorn.

This disappointed me bitterly, for I was not quite eighteen years of age [...] Almer sympathised much with me, and so, as we were walking down that afternoon to Grindelwald, tried to comfort me by promising to give me his dog Tschingel, as one of her sons, Bello by name, was now able to act as watchdog ...[1]On 20 and 21 June 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.

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.

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.

Mai 1898 Galt’s Berge zu bezwingen, Gab’s keinen bessern Mann; Wer mit dir stritt und siegte, Dich nie vergessen kann.