Mountain·Switzerland

Säntis

2,501m

Alpstein

Roland zh · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Elevation: 2,501m
Prominence: 2,021m
Isolation: 26km
Relief: 1,504mabove the lowest point within 5 km
Steepest slope: 61°within 1 km of the summit
Snow at the summit: Oct–JunSee month by month ↓
First ascent: 1922
Summit: 47.2494°N, 9.3439°E

Peak in northeastern Switzerland

Säntis is a mountain in the Alpstein (Switzerland). Its summit stands 2,501 m above sea level. Its prominence — how far it rises above the highest saddle linking it to a taller summit — is 2,021 m, and the nearest higher ground is 26 km away. It was first climbed in 1922.

From the lowest point within 5 km (997 m), it rises 1,504 m. The steepest side is the north-west face: 39° on average over the first kilometre. In places the ground near the top reaches 61° — terrain for climbers, not walkers.

The nearest town is Wildhaus, 5 km away at 1,090 m: 1,411 m below the summit.

Säntis 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

9.0/10

Difficulty to the top

Mountain walk

Most path sections around the top are T3 on the SAC hiking scale. Glaciers around the top.

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

2.5/2.5143 waymarked routes and 453 path sections nearby
1.5/1.521 huts and shelters
1.4/21,411 m of ascent from the valley
1.4/1.52,021 m of prominence
1.5/1.59 months with summit afternoons above −5 °C
0.6/1via ferratas, climbing and glaciers

Ski score

9.4/10

3.4/4134 km of downhill runs
1.5/1.542 ski lifts
1.5/1.51,635 m between the lowest and highest lift station
3.0/37 months of snow at about 1,666 m

Runs by difficulty

Easy 34 km
Intermediate 75 km
Difficult 12 km
Freeride 14 km

Snow season on the slopes (estimate)

Around 1,666 m, in the middle of the ski area: snow from November to May.

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

42 lifts · lift stations from 848 to 2,483 m · 96 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 Säntis

At the summit, snow from October to June. Month by month below, at different heights on the way up.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Summit2,501 msnow 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 on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month
Halfway up1,796 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
Wildhaus1,090 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

Säntis, 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 12 °C; on January nights it falls to about -17 °C. In 5 months of the year it stays below freezing at the top even in the afternoon. In July the 0 °C line climbs to about 4,380 m, above the summit: the top thaws on an average afternoon. Across the region, February is the driest month (70 mm) and August the wettest (185 mm).

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

Month	Summit high °C	Summit low °C	Wildhaus high °C	0 °C line (m)	Rain & snow (mm)	Wet days	Sun h/day
January	-9	-17	1	1,180	92	14	2.5
February	-8	-17	1	1,290	70	12	3.8
March	-4	-12	5	1,920	91	15	5.3
April	2	-8	11	2,820	93	16	6.5
May	7	-4	16	3,520	147	20	6.7
June	11	1	20	4,130	173	20	8.0
July	12	2	21	4,380	169	20	8.1
August	12	2	21	4,320	185	19	7.3
September	8	-2	17	3,670	121	16	6.0
October	4	-6	13	3,060	103	14	4.2
November	-3	-11	6	2,090	91	14	2.4
December	-7	-15	2	1,360	93	14	2.0

Estimate: the NASA POWER climate of a ~55 km cell (average height 1,425 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 Säntis

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

A lift reaches Säntis at 2,483 m — just 18 m below the summit.

21mountain huts and shelters
Tannhütte NFS (1,231 m), Berggasthaus Aescher-Wildkirchli (1,454 m), Berggasthaus Alter Säntis (2,465 m), Berggasthaus Rotsteinpass (2,120 m) and 17 more
26cable cars, gondolas, chairlifts and rack railways
Sesselbahn Wildhaus-Oberdorf, Gamsalpbahn, Luftseilbahn Jakobsbad-Kronberg, Luftseilbahn Iltios-Chäserrugg and 22 more
17ski areas
Gonten, Chäserrugg-Alt St. Johann, Ebenalp-Horn, Sollegg and 13 more
143waymarked hiking routes
Gersellen-Langenbüel, Haghütten-Schafbergsattel, Schafbergsattel-Schafberg Vorgipfel, Schafberg Vorgipfel - Schafberg and 139 more
—via ferratas
19climbing crags and routes
Familienroute, Via Gandor, Klettergarten Stoss, De Chli Bär and 15 more
2named glaciers
Blau Schnee, Gross Schnee
52viewpoints
Girenspitz, Fernglas, Rundumsicht, Stockberg Ost and 48 more
6campsites
Campingplatz Thur, Campingplatz Jakobsbad, Camping Drei Eidgenossen, Schafbergblick and 2 more
106hotels, B&Bs and chalets
Alpenrose, Alpenblick, Hof Weissbad, Drei Eidgenossen and 102 more
157restaurants and cafés

How hard are the paths?

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

T1T2T3T4T5

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

Towns at the foot

Wildhaus5 km · 1,090 m
Gonten9 km · 900 m
Urnäsch9 km · 861 m
Gams9 km · 483 m
Appenzell10 km · 783 m
Grabs11 km · 465 m
Sennwald12 km · 454 m
Buchs14 km · 447 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

Blick vom Säntis ins Alpsteinmassiv — Barbara Steinemann · CC BY-SA 4.0

Blick von Kellen auf Säntis — Plutowiki · CC0

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	-9	-8	-4	2	7	11	12	12	8	4	-3	-7
2020	+2.7	+3.2	+1.8	+4.0	+0.5	−1.9	+0.3	+0.8	+1.7	−2.4	+3.2	±0.0
2021	−1.4	+1.6	−2.4	−2.8	−3.1	+2.2	±0.0	−1.6	+2.1	−0.6	−0.1	+0.6
2022	+0.7	+1.3	+0.9	−0.4	+2.1	+3.2	+2.1	+1.6	−0.5	+4.1	+0.9	+0.9
2023	+0.6	+3.4	+2.7	−2.0	+0.1	+1.8	+1.5	+1.4	+4.9	+3.5	−1.5	+1.3
2024	+1.1	+3.4	+1.5	−0.3	−0.1	+0.4	+1.7	+3.3	+0.2	+1.8	+1.7	+1.0
2025	+1.3	+1.7	+3.1	+3.1	−0.4	+4.3	−1.3	+1.5	+1.6	−0.7	−0.1	+2.8

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

Nearby

More mountains nearby

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About these numbers

Names, elevation, prominence	Wikidata (Q15224) · 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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