MOUNTAINEERS from Switzerland

Top 4

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Swiss Mountaineers of all time. This list of famous Swiss Mountaineers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Horace Bénédict de Saussure (1740 - 1799)

With an HPI of 64.19, Horace Bénédict de Saussure is the most famous Swiss Mountaineer.  His biography has been translated into 33 different languages on wikipedia.

Horace Bénédict de Saussure (French: [ɔʁas benedikt də sosyʁ]; 17 February 1740 – 22 January 1799) was a Genevan geologist, meteorologist, physicist, mountaineer and Alpine explorer, often called the founder of alpinism and modern meteorology, and considered to be the first person to build a successful solar oven.

2. Matthias Zurbriggen (1856 - 1917)

With an HPI of 57.39, Matthias Zurbriggen is the 2nd most famous Swiss Mountaineer.  Her biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Matthias Zurbriggen (15 May 1856 in Saas-Fee – 21 June 1917 in Geneva) was a Swiss mountaineer. He climbed throughout the Alps, the Andes, the Himalayas and New Zealand.

3. Erhard Loretan (1959 - 2011)

With an HPI of 51.14, Erhard Loretan is the 3rd most famous Swiss Mountaineer.  His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Erhard Loretan (28 April 1959 – 28 April 2011) was a Swiss mountain climber. He was the third man to climb all fourteen peaks over 8,000 meters, and the second to do so without supplementary oxygen.

4. Ueli Steck (1976 - 2017)

With an HPI of 49.81, Ueli Steck is the 4th most famous Swiss Mountaineer.  His biography has been translated into 26 different languages.

Ueli Steck (Alemannic German: [ˈuεli ʃtɛk]; 4 October 1976 – 30 April 2017) was a Swiss rock climber and alpinist. He was the first to climb Annapurna solo via its South Face (though this is disputed by some), and set speed records on the North Face trilogy in the Alps. He won two Piolet d'Or awards, in 2009 and 2014. Having previously summitted Mount Everest, Steck died on 30 April 2017, after a fall during an acclimatizing climb for an attempt on the Hornbein route on the West Ridge of Everest without supplemental oxygen.