Finsteraarhorn: first ascent

On 10 August 1829, Jakob Leuthold and Johann Währen reached the summit of the Finsteraarhorn (4,274 m) in the Bernese Oberland for the first time. Attempts at the first ascent began in 1812 with Johann Rudolf Meyer, who claimed to have reached the summit together with the guides Arnold Abbühl, Joseph Bortes and Aloys Volker. However, research carried out by the Alpine Journal has shown that the true “first ascenders” were in fact the guides Leuthold and Währen, who were accompanying the geologist Franz Joseph Hugi. Hugi himself did not reach the summit but did make it to the saddle below – now named after him, the Hugisattel – before being forced to turn back due to bad weather.