Horace Walker
Encyclopedia
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
mountaineer
Mountaineer
-Sports:*Mountaineering, the sport, hobby or profession of walking, hiking, trekking and climbing up mountains, also known as alpinism-University athletic teams and mascots:*Appalachian State Mountaineers, the athletic teams of Appalachian State University...
who made many notable first ascents, including Mount Elbrus
Mount Elbrus
Mount Elbrus is an inactive volcano located in the western Caucasus mountain range, in Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia, Russia, near the border of Georgia. Mt. Elbrus's peak is the highest in the Caucasus, in Russia...
and the Grandes Jorasses
Grandes Jorasses
The Grandes Jorasses is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif.The first ascent of the highest peak of the mountain was by Horace Walker with guides Melchior Anderegg, Johann Jaun and Julien Grange on 30 June 1868...
.
Alpinism
Born in 1838, Walker was the son of Liverpool lead merchant and mountaineer Francis Walker (1808–1872) and brother of Lucy WalkerLucy Walker (climber)
Lucy Walker was a British mountaineer and the first woman to climb the Matterhorn.Miss Walker began her climbing rather modestly in 1858 when she was advised by her doctor to take up walking as a cure for rheumatism...
(1836–1916), the first woman to climb the Matterhorn
Matterhorn
The Matterhorn , Monte Cervino or Mont Cervin , is a mountain in the Pennine Alps on the border between Switzerland and Italy. Its summit is 4,478 metres high, making it one of the highest peaks in the Alps. The four steep faces, rising above the surrounding glaciers, face the four compass points...
.
Walker was President of the Alpine Club
Alpine Club (UK)
The Alpine Club was founded in London in 1857 and was probably the world's first mountaineering club. It is UK mountaineering's acknowledged 'senior club'.-History:...
in 1891-1893.
Commemoration
The Horace Walker glacier and Horace Walker hut in the Southern AlpsSouthern Alps
The Southern Alps is a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the island's western side...
of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
are named after him.
In commemoration of his first ascent of the Grandes Jorasses on 30 June 1868, Walker gives his name to Pointe Walker (4,208 m), the highest summit of the mountain; this lends its name to the Walker Spur, the most well-known buttress on the north face and one of the great north faces of the Alps
Great north faces of the Alps
In mountaineering, the six great north faces of the Alps are known for their difficulty and great height. They are:*Cima Grande di Lavaredo*Eiger*Grandes Jorasses*Matterhorn*Petit Dru*Piz Badile...
.
First ascents
- Barre des ÉcrinsBarre des ÉcrinsThe Barre des Écrins is a mountain in the French Alps, the highest point of the Massif des Écrins, and the most southerly alpine peak in Europe that is higher than 4,000 metres.- Geography :...
with A. W. MooreAdolphus Warburton MooreAdolphus Warburton Moore was a British civil servant and mountaineer.-Life:The son of Major John Arthur Moore and Sophia Stewart Yates,, Moore was an India Office official from 1858–1887, holding the role of Assistant Secretary, Political Department from 1875–1885...
and Edward WhymperEdward WhymperEdward Whymper , was an English illustrator, climber and explorer best known for the first ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865. On the descent four members of the party were killed.-Early life:...
, and guides Michel CrozMichel CrozMichel Auguste Croz was a French mountain guide and the first ascentionist of many mountains in the western Alps during the golden age of alpinism...
, Christian AlmerChristian Almerthumb|220px|Christian AlmerChristian Almer 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....
the elder, and Christian Almer the younger on 25 June 1864 - BalmhornBalmhornThe Balmhorn is a mountain in the Bernese Alps in Switzerland. Its summit ridge lies on the border between the cantons of Berne and the Valais....
(Bernese AlpsBernese AlpsThe Bernese Alps are a group of mountain ranges in the western part of the Alps, in Switzerland. Although the name suggests that they are located in the Bernese Oberland region of the canton of Bern, portions of the Bernese Alps are in the adjacent cantons of Valais, Lucerne, Obwalden, Fribourg and...
) with Frank Walker and Lucy WalkerLucy Walker (climber)Lucy Walker was a British mountaineer and the first woman to climb the Matterhorn.Miss Walker began her climbing rather modestly in 1858 when she was advised by her doctor to take up walking as a cure for rheumatism...
, and guides Jakob Anderegg and Melchior AndereggMelchior AndereggMelchior Anderegg , 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...
on 21 July 1864 - Piz RosegPiz RosegPiz Roseg is a mountain in the Bernina Range in Graubünden, Switzerland.There are two summits on its main ridge:*the south-east and higher summit *the north-west summit, known as the Schneekuppe ....
(Bernina Alps) with A. W. Moore, and the guide Jakob Anderegg on 28 June 1865
- Ober GabelhornOber GabelhornThe Ober Gabelhorn 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 . It rises, together with the Dent Blanche and the Zinalrothorn , above the Zinal Glacier...
(Pennine AlpsPennine AlpsThe Pennine Alps are a mountain range in the western part of the Alps. They are located in Switzerland and Italy...
) with A. W. Moore, and Jakob Anderegg on 6 July 1865 - Pigne d'ArollaPigne d'ArollaPigne d'Arolla is a mountain in the Pennine Alps in Switzerland.The first ascent was made by A. W. Moore and Horace Walker with the guide Jakob Anderegg on 9 July 1865.-External links:*...
(Pennine AlpsPennine AlpsThe Pennine Alps are a mountain range in the western part of the Alps. They are located in Switzerland and Italy...
) with A. W. Moore, and Jakob Anderegg on 9 July 1865 - Brenva Spur on Mont BlancMont BlancMont Blanc or Monte Bianco , meaning "White Mountain", is the highest mountain in the Alps, Western Europe and the European Union. It rises above sea level and is ranked 11th in the world in topographic prominence...
with George Spencer Mathews, A. W. Moore, Francis Walker, and the guides Jakob Anderegg and Melchior Anderegg on 15 July 1865 - Grandes JorassesGrandes JorassesThe Grandes Jorasses is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif.The first ascent of the highest peak of the mountain was by Horace Walker with guides Melchior Anderegg, Johann Jaun and Julien Grange on 30 June 1868...
(Mont Blanc MassifMont Blanc MassifThe Mont Blanc massif is a mountain range in the western Alps. It is named after Mont Blanc, at 4,810.45 m the highest summit of the Alps. It is located in France , Italy , and Switzerland...
) with guides Melchior Anderegg, Johann Jaun and Julien Grange on 30 June 1868 - Mount ElbrusMount ElbrusMount Elbrus is an inactive volcano located in the western Caucasus mountain range, in Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia, Russia, near the border of Georgia. Mt. Elbrus's peak is the highest in the Caucasus, in Russia...
(CaucasusCaucasusThe Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
) with F. Crauford GroveFlorence Crauford GroveFlorence Crauford Grove was an English mountaineer and author, sometimes known as F. Crauford Grove.-Mountaineer:Grove became an experienced alpinist in the late 1850s and joined the Alpine Club of London soon after it was formed in 1857, later serving as its President from 1884 to 1886...
, Frederick Gardner, Peter Knubel and guide Ahiya Sottaiev in 1874