Mountain·Austria

Hochalmspitze

3,360m

Ankogel Group

H.Raab ( User:Vesta ) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Elevation: 3,360m
Prominence: 942m
Isolation: 46km
Relief: 2,139mabove the lowest point within 5 km
Steepest slope: 56°within 1 km of the summit
Snow at the summit: All yearSee month by month ↓
First ascent: 1859
Summit: 47.0158°N, 13.3217°E

Mountain in the Ankogel group in Carinthia, Austrian

Hochalmspitze is a mountain in the Ankogel Group (Austria). Its summit stands 3,360 m above sea level. Its prominence — how far it rises above the highest saddle linking it to a taller summit — is 942 m, and the nearest higher ground is 46 km away. It was first climbed in 1859.

From the lowest point within 5 km (1,221 m), it rises 2,139 m. The steepest side is the west face: 33° on average over the first kilometre. In places the ground near the top reaches 56° — terrain for climbers, not walkers.

The nearest town is Mallnitz, 12 km away at 1,194 m: 2,166 m below the summit.

Hochalmspitze 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

9.8/10

Difficulty to the top

Alpine climb

Most path sections around the top are T5 on the SAC hiking scale. Glaciers around the top.

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

2.5/2.532 waymarked routes and 92 path sections nearby
1.5/1.513 huts and shelters
2.0/22,166 m of ascent from the valley
1.3/1.5942 m of prominence
1.5/1.57 months with summit afternoons above −5 °C
1.0/1via ferratas, climbing and glaciers

Ski score

5.4/10

2.1/419 km of downhill runs
0.3/1.59 ski lifts
0.0/1.5lift station heights not mapped
3.0/36 months of snow at about 1,694 m

Runs by difficulty

Easy 4 km
Intermediate 10 km
Difficult 5 km

Snow season on the slopes (estimate)

Around 1,694 m, in the middle of the ski area: snow from November to April (some years from November to May).

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

9 lifts · 0 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 Hochalmspitze

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
Summit3,360 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 up2,277 msnow from October to May (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 some of the time	No snow	No snow	No snow	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month
Mallnitz1,194 msnow from December to April	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	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	Snow on the ground all month

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

Hochalmspitze, 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 7 °C; on January nights it falls to about -23 °C. In 7 months of the year it stays below freezing at the top even in the afternoon. In July the 0 °C line climbs to about 4,450 m, above the summit: the top thaws on an average afternoon. Across the region, February is the driest month (55 mm) and August the wettest (175 mm).

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

Month	Summit high °C	Summit low °C	Mallnitz high °C	0 °C line (m)	Rain & snow (mm)	Wet days	Sun h/day
January	-14	-23	0	1,160	59	12	3.1
February	-14	-22	0	1,270	55	11	4.5
March	-9	-18	5	1,930	71	15	5.2
April	-4	-13	10	2,790	82	16	5.7
May	1	-9	15	3,540	127	21	5.5
June	5	-5	20	4,190	151	22	6.4
July	7	-3	21	4,450	167	22	7.0
August	7	-3	21	4,370	175	20	6.5
September	2	-8	16	3,670	126	16	5.1
October	-2	-11	12	3,000	106	14	4.6
November	-8	-15	6	2,070	96	14	2.8
December	-13	-20	1	1,370	70	13	2.5

Estimate: the NASA POWER climate of a ~55 km cell (average height 1,697 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. Heights drawn 2× taller than lengths, so the shape can be seen.

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 Hochalmspitze

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

Hochalmspitze seen from above (Sentinel-2)

N 5 km

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 14 × 14 km, north up. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

13mountain huts and shelters
Mooshütte (2,320 m), Villacher Hütte (2,194 m), Osnabrücker Hütte (2,022 m), Gießener Hütte (2,215 m) and 9 more
—cable cars, gondolas, chairlifts and rack railways
1ski areas
Ankogel Mallnitz
32waymarked hiking routes
Zentralalpenweg 02, Wanderweg 546, Wanderweg 547, Wanderweg 548 and 28 more
9via ferratas
Celler Weg, Klettersteig "Damm High", SÄULECK - KLETTERSTEIG, Übungsklettersteig and 5 more
10climbing crags and routes
Kleine Seenplatten, Große Seenplatten, Lodronblock, Klettergarten Galaxy and 6 more
14named glaciers
Trippkees, Winkelkees, Kälberspitzkees, Grubenkarkees and 10 more
17viewpoints
Blauer Tumpf, Airwalk Kölnbreinsperre, Felskanzel and 14 more
1campsites
Gmünder Hütte
14hotels, B&Bs and chalets
Hotel Alpenhof, Ad Alta, Crazy Posthotel, Gästehaus Herrenschmiede and 10 more
14restaurants and cafés

How hard are the paths?

92 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

Mallnitz12 km · 1,194 m
Obervellach12 km · 802 m
Flattach17 km · 814 m
Mühldorf18 km · 714 m
Bad Gastein18 km · 998 m
Hüttschlag19 km · 974 m
Gmünd20 km · 768 m
Möllbrücke20 km · 558 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

Ankogelgruppe von Refling Detail — Kuhni74 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Dachstein-Hunerkogel-Blick-07 — SchiDD · 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	-14	-14	-9	-4	1	5	7	7	2	-2	-8	-13
2020	+3.1	+3.2	+0.4	+2.9	−0.5	−1.7	+0.2	+1.3	+1.4	−2.2	+2.7	±0.0
2021	−1.9	+1.6	−2.5	−2.9	−2.8	+2.3	+0.1	−0.9	+2.5	−0.9	+0.4	−0.7
2022	+0.1	+0.7	+0.9	−0.4	+2.3	+2.8	+1.8	+0.8	−1.0	+4.3	+1.0	+0.7
2023	+0.7	+1.7	+2.6	−2.4	−0.6	+1.2	+1.0	+1.2	+4.1	+3.2	−1.3	+1.8
2024	+0.7	+4.3	+2.9	+1.3	+0.1	+0.2	+2.2	+3.3	−0.9	+1.7	+1.9	+1.2
2025	+2.0	+4.0	+2.7	+1.9	−0.3	+4.3	−1.1	+1.1	+1.9	−1.1	−0.2	+2.4

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

Nearby

More mountains nearby

2,995 mHoher Dachstein

Austria56 km away

2,862 mHochgolling

Austria43 km away

3,564 mGroßes Wiesbachhorn

Austria46 km away

3,203 mKitzsteinhorn

Austria52 km away

About these numbers

Names, elevation, prominence	Wikidata (Q667041) · 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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