Mountain·Switzerland

Rheinwaldhorn

3,402m

Adula Group

Marco Lurati · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Elevation: 3,402m
Prominence: 1,337m
Isolation: 35km
Relief: 2,202mabove the lowest point within 5 km
Steepest slope: 60°within 1 km of the summit
Snow at the summit: All yearSee month by month ↓
First ascent: 1789
Summit: 46.4939°N, 9.0400°E

Mountain in Swiss Alps, part of Adula massif

Rheinwaldhorn is a mountain in the Adula Group (Switzerland). Its summit stands 3,402 m above sea level. Its prominence — how far it rises above the highest saddle linking it to a taller summit — is 1,337 m, and the nearest higher ground is 35 km away. It was first climbed in 1789.

From the lowest point within 5 km (1,200 m), it rises 2,202 m. The steepest side is the east face: 38° on average over the first kilometre. In places the ground near the top reaches 60° — terrain for climbers, not walkers.

The nearest town is Acquarossa, 9 km away at 552 m: 2,850 m below the summit.

Rheinwaldhorn 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

9.5/10

Difficulty to the top

Alpine climb

Most path sections around the top are T4 on the SAC hiking scale. Glaciers around the top.

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

2.5/2.525 waymarked routes and 80 path sections nearby
1.5/1.510 huts and shelters
2.0/22,850 m of ascent from the valley
1.3/1.51,337 m of prominence
1.5/1.56 months with summit afternoons above −5 °C
0.6/1via ferratas, climbing and glaciers

Ski score

6.6/10

2.7/444 km of downhill runs
0.9/1.525 ski lifts
0.0/1.5lift station heights not mapped
3.0/35 months of snow at about 1,052 m

Runs by difficulty

Easy 15 km
Intermediate 21 km
Difficult 4 km
Freeride 3 km

Snow season on the slopes (estimate)

Around 1,052 m, in the middle of the ski area: snow from December to April.

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

25 lifts · 14 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 Rheinwaldhorn

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
Summit3,402 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 up1,977 msnow from November to May	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	No snow	No snow	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month
Acquarossa552 msnow from January to February (some years from December to February)	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	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

Rheinwaldhorn, 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 4,460 m, above the summit: the top thaws on an average afternoon. Across the region, February is the driest month (66 mm) and August the wettest (181 mm).

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

Month	Summit high °C	Summit low °C	Acquarossa high °C	0 °C line (m)	Rain & snow (mm)	Wet days	Sun h/day
January	-14	-23	4	1,180	74	13	4.1
February	-14	-22	5	1,320	66	12	5.5
March	-10	-18	8	1,830	87	14	6.4
April	-6	-13	13	2,540	111	16	5.9
May	0	-9	19	3,410	162	21	5.7
June	5	-4	24	4,200	163	20	7.4
July	7	-2	25	4,460	156	20	7.9
August	6	-3	25	4,380	181	19	7.1
September	2	-6	21	3,770	120	16	6.1
October	-2	-10	16	3,010	122	15	4.7
November	-9	-15	10	2,040	133	16	3.4
December	-13	-21	5	1,340	89	14	3.4

Estimate: the NASA POWER climate of a ~55 km cell (average height 1,845 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 Rheinwaldhorn

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

Rheinwaldhorn 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.

10mountain huts and shelters
Capanna Adula CAS (2,012 m), Capanna Quarnei (2,107 m), Capanna Adula UTOE (2,393 m), Rifugio Alpe Scaradra and 6 more
2cable cars, gondolas, chairlifts and rack railways
Filovia Malvaglia-Dagro
5ski areas
Nara – Leontica, Campo Blenio - Ghirone, Confin / San Bernardino, Nara and 1 more
25waymarked hiking routes
Diga di Luzzone - Capanna Adula CAS, Via Alta Carassina, Zervreila - Diga del Luzzone, Zervreila Läntahütte and 21 more
—via ferratas
2climbing crags and routes
Klettergarten Obsee
7named glaciers
Ghiacciaio di Bresciana, Zapportgletscher, Fanellgletscher, Höhberggletscher and 3 more
3viewpoints
4campsites
Acquarossa, TCS Camping Olivone
18hotels, B&Bs and chalets
Relais Lucomagno, Ristorante Albergo Genziana, B&B Il Calicanto, Pensione Centrale and 14 more
20restaurants and cafés

How hard are the paths?

80 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

Acquarossa9 km · 552 m
Malvaglia11 km · 370 m
Hinterrhein13 km · 1,668 m
Biasca16 km · 305 m
Bodio16 km · 329 m
Vals Platz17 km · 1,252 m
Faido18 km · 703 m
Mesocco18 km · 783 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

Läntagletscher und Rheinwaldhorn (von Läntahütte) 2016 — Whgler · CC BY-SA 4.0

Rheinwaldhorn Adulajoch — ISjc99 · CC BY-SA 3.0

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	-10	-6	0	5	7	6	2	-2	-9	-13
2020	+2.0	+2.5	+0.3	+2.5	+2.0	−1.5	+1.0	+1.1	+1.1	−2.4	+3.3	−0.5
2021	−1.2	+1.7	−0.6	−3.0	−2.5	+0.8	−0.4	−0.7	+1.5	−0.5	−0.2	+1.0
2022	+1.4	+1.7	+1.0	+1.5	+2.9	+2.4	+2.6	+1.9	−0.8	+3.7	+0.6	+0.9
2023	+0.3	+2.6	+2.7	−0.4	+0.4	+0.9	+1.3	+1.1	+3.6	+3.1	−1.0	+2.0
2024	+1.5	+4.0	+1.2	−1.1	−0.9	−0.5	+1.8	+2.9	−1.8	+1.2	+2.1	+1.8
2025	+1.6	+2.1	+1.1	+2.5	+0.7	+3.9	−0.7	+1.4	+0.5	+0.1	−0.3	+2.5

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

Nearby

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About these numbers

Names, elevation, prominence	Wikidata (Q15135) · 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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