Mountain·Switzerland

Bietschhorn

3,934m

Aletschhorn-Bietschhorn Group

Daniel Reust · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Elevation: 3,934m
Prominence: 807m
Isolation: 13km
Relief: 2,543mabove the lowest point within 5 km
Steepest slope: 59°within 1 km of the summit
Snow at the summit: All yearSee month by month ↓
Summit: 46.3922°N, 7.8500°E

Mountain in Switzerland

Bietschhorn is a mountain in the Aletschhorn-Bietschhorn Group (Switzerland). Its summit stands 3,934 m above sea level. Its prominence — how far it rises above the highest saddle linking it to a taller summit — is 807 m, and the nearest higher ground is 13 km away.

From the lowest point within 5 km (1,391 m), it rises 2,543 m. The steepest side is the south face: 45° on average over the first kilometre. In places the ground near the top reaches 59° — terrain for climbers, not walkers.

The nearest town is Baltschieder, 9 km away at 661 m: 3,273 m below the summit.

Bietschhorn for skiers and climbers

Two scores out of 10, built only from open data — every part is shown. They describe what the mountain offers, not how safe it is.

Hiking & mountaineering

9.3/10

Difficulty to the top

Alpine climb

Most path sections around the top are T6 on the SAC hiking scale. Glaciers around the top.

Indicative only — never a safety assessment. Conditions change: ask local guides and check the forecast.

2.5/2.526 waymarked routes and 105 path sections nearby
1.2/1.55 huts and shelters
2.0/23,273 m of ascent from the valley
1.3/1.5807 m of prominence
1.2/1.55 months with summit afternoons above −5 °C
1.0/1via ferratas, climbing and glaciers

Ski score

9.5/10

3.6/4157 km of downhill runs
1.4/1.538 ski lifts
1.5/1.51,688 m between the lowest and highest lift station
3.0/38 months of snow at about 2,247 m

Runs by difficulty

Easy 44 km
Intermediate 24 km
Difficult 15 km
Freeride 6 km

Snow season on the slopes (estimate)

Around 2,247 m, in the middle of the ski area: snow from November to June (some years from October to June).

Snow on the ground all month
Snow some of the time
No snow
This month

38 lifts · lift stations from 1,403 to 3,091 m · 5 km cross-country

How these scores are made

Ski (where OpenStreetMap has skiing within 12 km): up to 4 points for the length of downhill runs (300 km or more = 4), 1.5 for the number of lifts (40+), 1.5 for the vertical between lift stations (1,500 m) and 3 for the snow season — a month counts when the estimated mean temperature at the height of the ski area is −1 °C or lower and snow falls or lies there (NASA POWER, 2001–2020). Hiking & mountaineering: up to 2.5 for waymarked routes and paths, 1.5 for huts, 2 for the ascent from the valley (2,000 m), 1.5 for prominence (3,000 m), 1.5 for the season (months with summit afternoons above −5 °C) and 1 for via ferratas, climbing and glaciers. OpenStreetMap is built by volunteers: where few things are mapped, a score can be lower than reality.

Plan your visit

Stay, climb and get there

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Snow

When there is snow on Bietschhorn

At the summit, snow all year round. Month by month below, at different heights on the way up.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Summit3,934 msnow all year round	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month
Halfway up2,298 msnow from November to June (some years from October to June)	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	No snow	No snow	No snow	Snow some of the time	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month
Baltschieder661 msnow from January to March (some years from December to March)	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	Snow some of the time

Snow on the ground all month
Snow some of the time
No snow
This month

Estimate for a normal year: average temperature and precipitation from NASA POWER, carried to each height, in a simple model of snow building up and melting. In a given year snow can come earlier or stay longer. It does not replace the local snow and avalanche bulletin.

Summit weather

Bietschhorn, month by month

Not a forecast: long-term averages (1991–2020), carried up to the summit. The orange line is where an average afternoon reaches 0 °C; above the dashed blue line it freezes even at dawn.

On an average July afternoon the summit reaches about 3 °C; on January nights it falls to about -26 °C. In 9 months of the year it stays below freezing at the top even in the afternoon. In July the 0 °C line climbs to about 4,410 m, above the summit: the top thaws on an average afternoon. Across the region, February is the driest month (69 mm) and August the wettest (165 mm).

0 °C on an average afternoon 0 °C at dawn the summit

Month	Summit high °C	Summit low °C	Baltschieder high °C	0 °C line (m)	Rain & snow (mm)	Wet days	Sun h/day
January	-18	-26	4	1,220	81	14	4.1
February	-17	-26	4	1,350	69	12	5.5
March	-14	-21	8	1,840	89	15	6.4
April	-9	-16	12	2,580	103	16	5.9
May	-4	-12	18	3,390	154	20	5.7
June	1	-8	23	4,130	151	20	7.4
July	3	-6	24	4,410	148	19	7.9
August	3	-6	24	4,350	165	18	7.1
September	-1	-10	20	3,750	106	16	6.1
October	-6	-14	16	3,050	107	15	4.7
November	-12	-19	9	2,070	114	16	3.4
December	-16	-24	5	1,390	92	15	3.4

Estimate: the NASA POWER climate of a ~55 km cell (average height 1,854 m), adjusted to the summit by −6.5 °C per 1,000 m. Rain, wet days and sunshine are those of the region. Mountain weather changes fast — always check a local forecast. ★ = mildest months at the top.

Relief

The mountain in profile

Two cuts through the summit, 16 km long, from the 30 m Copernicus elevation model. True scale: no vertical exaggeration.

West – east

South – north

Steepness by direction

Average slope of the first kilometre from the summit. The orange petal is the steepest side.

Around the mountain

Huts, lifts and trails around Bietschhorn

Counted around the summit in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. The satellite plate shows 14 × 14 km.

A lift reaches Hockenhorngrat at 3,091 m — just 843 m below the summit.

5mountain huts and shelters
Stockhorn-Biwak (2,598 m), Wiwannihütte (2,470 m), Baltschiederklause, Anenhütte (2,358 m) and 1 more
4cable cars, gondolas, chairlifts and rack railways
Luftseilbahn Wiler-Lauchernalp, Stafel-Gandegg, Gandegg-Hockenhorngrat, Lauchernalp - Stafel
6ski areas
Lauchernalp, Blatten Belalp, Jeizinen, Belalp and 2 more
26waymarked hiking routes
Lötschentaler Höhenwanderweg, 04-Lötschberg Panoramaweg, Ritzibodo - Reemistafel, Ze Steinu - Baltschiederklause SAC and 22 more
4via ferratas
Klettersteig Baltschieder, Rock Metal Climbing (B/C), Seilbrücke (B/C)
4climbing crags and routes
Steinadlerroute, Salwald
17named glaciers
Nestgletscher, Joligletscher, Birchgletscher, Mühlbachgletscher and 13 more
18viewpoints
Honegga, Sättlechnubel, Steihow, Trosibodo and 14 more
2campsites
Camping Fafleralp
52hotels, B&Bs and chalets
zur Wildi, Burgerhaus, Vallesia, Bergheim and 48 more
69restaurants and cafés

How hard are the paths?

105 path sections within 5 km, by SAC hiking scale (T1 easy walk … T6 difficult alpine).

T1T2T3T4T5T6

T1 hiking
T2 mountain hiking
T3 demanding mountain hiking
T4 alpine hiking
T5 demanding alpine hiking
T6 difficult alpine hiking

Towns at the foot

Baltschieder9 km · 661 m
Raron10 km · 644 m
Visp11 km · 653 m
Gampel12 km · 637 m
Naters13 km · 720 m
Brig13 km · 680 m
Visperterminen15 km · 1,328 m
Turtmann15 km · 635 m

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OpenStreetMap is built by volunteers: a low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. Places © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

Photos

Seen by climbers and visitors

Balmhorn, Wildstrubel and Bietschhorn (15694038076) — Björn S... · CC BY-SA 2.0

Berner Alpen im Abendlicht (79350) — Reustli · CC BY-SA 4.0

Recent years

How each month compared at the summit

Afternoon high at the summit (estimate). The first row is the reference, the 1991–2020 average in °C; the years show only the difference.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
1991–2020 average	-18	-17	-14	-9	-4	1	3	3	-1	-6	-12	-16
2020	+2.2	+2.9	+0.4	+2.8	+1.8	−1.7	+0.9	+0.7	+1.0	−2.5	+3.5	−0.6
2021	−1.4	+2.2	−0.3	−1.8	−2.5	+1.0	−0.6	−0.9	+1.7	−0.4	−0.2	+1.2
2022	+1.2	+1.6	+2.1	+1.2	+2.8	+2.8	+2.8	+2.3	−0.5	+3.8	+0.7	+1.0
2023	+0.2	+2.6	+2.9	−0.7	+0.3	+1.1	+1.6	+1.4	+4.0	+3.1	−1.1	+1.8
2024	+1.7	+4.1	+1.4	−0.8	−0.6	−0.1	+1.8	+2.9	−1.6	+1.1	+2.4	+1.9
2025	+1.7	+2.4	+1.4	+2.7	+0.5	+4.1	−0.8	+1.4	+0.7	−0.2	−0.1	+2.4

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

Nearby

More mountains nearby

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3,820 mNesthorn

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3,661 mBlüemlisalp

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About these numbers

Names, elevation, prominence	Wikidata (Q15289) · CC0
Relief, 3D view, profiles	Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
Climate	NASA POWER, 1991–2020 · CC BY 4.0
Around the mountain	© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
Images	EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

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