Griid

The Gauli Glacier, located on Meiringen soil, was the scene of an emergency landing by an American Douglas C-53 on November 19, 1946. All crew members and passengers survived the crash, although some suffered injuries caused by the “beaching” of the aircraft.

The plane survived the crash without significant damage. However, it was not possible to think of another takeoff from the glacier. After the pilots could send out a distress call, which was received at Paris-Orly airport, the US military launched a search operation unprecedented in its scale, involving 80 aircraft. Since the pilots, due to the bad weather conditions, had “lost their bearings”, they believed themselves to be in the French Alps rather than the Swiss.

It was thanks to the attentive flight controller in Meiringen, who noticed that the radio signals were unusually clear, that he considered the possibility of a second bearing of the radio signal, including the Swiss Alps as a possible crash site. After the accidental discovery of the crashed machine between Rosenhorn and Wetterhorn at over 3,500 meters above sea level, the extensive search operation was undertaken by American alpine soldiers and Swiss mountain rescue teams.

Melchior Anderegg was, together with Christian Almer, the first mountain guide to obtain the Swiss mountain guide patent in 1856. Not least due to his outstanding alpine abilities, he earned the title of ‘King of the Guides.’ Melchior Anderegg grew up on the opposite side of the valley from Brienzwiler, in ‘Zaun’ near Meiringen. His birthplace is still a picturesque piece of land that can be wonderfully explored on a day hike from Brienzwiler. Melchior Anderegg was the first to summit numerous renowned peaks in the Western Alps. One of his most prominent guests was the founder of the English ‘Alpine Club,’ Leslie Stephen.