| Lyskamm | |
|---|---|
 North-east side of Lyskamm | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 4,532 m (14,869 ft) |
| Prominence | 379 m ↓ Lisjoch[1] |
| Parent peak | Monte Rosa |
| Isolation | 3 km (1.9 mi) → Zumsteinspitze[2] |
| Coordinates | 45°55′21″N7°50′08″E / 45.92250°N 7.83556°E /45.92250; 7.83556 |
| Naming | |
| Native name | Liskamm (German) |
| English translation | Lys Ridge |
| Geography | |
  Lyskamm Location in the Alps | |
| Countries | Italy andSwitzerland |
| Region/Canton | Aosta Valley andValais |
| Parent range | Pennine Alps |
| Topo map | Swiss Federal Office of Topographyswisstopo |
| Climbing | |
| First ascent | J. F. Hardy and party, 1861 |
| Easiest route | Basic glacier/snow climb/scrambling along exposed ridge |
Lyskamm (German:Liskamm, formerlyLyskamm, literally "crest of the Lys"), also known asSilberbast (literally "silver bast"),[3][4] is amountain (4,532 m (14,869 ft)) in thePennine Alps lying on the border betweenSwitzerland andItaly. It consists of a five-kilometre-long ridge with two distinct peaks. The mountain has gained a reputation for seriousness because of the manycornices lying on the ridge and the frequent avalanches, thus leading to its nickname theMenschenfresser ("people eater").
Despite a prominence of well over 300 metres, Lyskamm is sometimes considered to be part of the extendedMonte Rosa group (in fact theDufourspitze is only 107 metres higher). But visually Lyskamm is a huge massif, composed of two summits: the Eastern Lyskamm and the lowerWestern Lyskamm, separated by a 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) long ridge, both lying on the border between the Swiss canton ofValais (north) and the Italian region of theAosta Valley (south).
The northern side of the mountain is an impressive 1,100 metres (3,600 ft) ice-covered wall, rising up from theGrenzgletscher. The gentler southern side rises only a few hundred metres above theglacier of the same name:Lysgletscher.
The eastern and higher of the two peaks is 4,532 m, and was first ascended in 1861 from the Lisjoch up the east ridge by a 14-man team (seven Englishmen, one Scotsman, and six Swiss guides) led by J. F. Hardy and includingWilliam Edward Hall. Others in the party included A. C. Ramsey, F. Sibson, T. Rennison, J. A. Hudson, C. H. Pilkington and R. M. Stephenson. The guides were Franz Josef Lochmatter (1825-1897) ofSt. Niklaus in the canton Valais, J.-P. Cachet, K. Kerr, S. Zumtaugwald, P. and J.-M. Perren.[5]
The ridge as a whole (as well as the western summit) was first traversed three years later byLeslie Stephen, Edward N. Buxton,Jakob Anderegg and Franz Biener.[5]
The first attempt to climb the imposing north-east face was made in 1880 by the brothers Kalbermatten. They were carried down to the glacier by an avalanche but they survived the accident. On 9 August 1890, L. Norman-Neruda with guidesChristian Klucker and J. Reinstadler were the first to reach the summit (Lyskamm East) by the north face, by what is now known as the "Norman-Neruda route".[5] The first winter ascent of this route was made on 11 March 1956 by C. Fosson and O. Frachey.[6]
In 1907,Geoffrey Winthrop Young and his guide traversed the whole ridge two times. Young wanted to traverse the ridge from theNordend to theBreithorn. They started from Riffelalp at midnight and finished the traverse of the Monte Rosa massif at midday. But after the traverse of the Lyskamm andCastor the guide was too tired. Young, who was very disappointed, convinced him to go back by the Lisjoch before descending to Zermatt, implying a second traverse on the Lyskamm. Young even wanted to continue back to the Nordend but his guide refused to prolong the journey.[5]
The normal route starts from the Lisjoch, which can be accessed from the Gnifetti Hut (3,650 m) or from theMonte Rosa Hut (2,883 m). The route follows the route taken by the first ascensionist.
The mountain is often climbed as a traverse from the Feliksjoch (West), to the Lisjoch (East) or vice versa. The traverse consists mostly of a narrow, snow-covered ridge, with some scrambling over rocks. In good conditions, this route is fairly easy and objectively safe, however in bad snow conditions and/or bad visibility, the ridge can be challenging because of large, sometimes double, cornices, mainly on the southern side of the ridge.
