Mountain·France

Aiguille du Midi

3,842m

Mont Blanc massif

Martin Janner · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Elevation: 3,842m
Prominence: 310m
Isolation: 1.7km
Relief: 2,827mabove the lowest point within 5 km
Steepest slope: 60°within 1 km of the summit
Snow at the summit: All yearSee month by month ↓
Summit: 45.8792°N, 6.8892°E

Mountain

Aiguille du Midi is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif (France). Its summit stands 3,842 m above sea level. Its prominence — how far it rises above the highest saddle linking it to a taller summit — is 310 m, and the nearest higher ground is 1.7 km away.

From the lowest point within 5 km (1,015 m), it rises 2,827 m. The steepest side is the north face: 52° on average over the first kilometre. In places the ground near the top reaches 60° — terrain for climbers, not walkers.

The nearest town is Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, 5 km away at 1,060 m: 2,782 m below the summit.

Aiguille du Midi 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

9.6/10

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.

2.5/2.5102 waymarked routes and 239 path sections nearby
1.5/1.527 huts and shelters
2.0/22,782 m of ascent from the valley
1.1/1.5310 m of prominence
1.5/1.56 months with summit afternoons above −5 °C
1.0/1via ferratas, climbing and glaciers

Ski score

10.0/10

4.0/4305 km of downhill runs
1.5/1.588 ski lifts
1.5/1.52,742 m between the lowest and highest lift station
3.0/38 months of snow at about 2,406 m

Runs by difficulty

Beginner 11 km
Easy 92 km
Intermediate 100 km
Difficult 39 km
Freeride 62 km

Snow season on the slopes (estimate)

Around 2,406 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

88 lifts · lift stations from 1,035 to 3,777 m · 38 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

Car hire at GVA airport (Geneva)Discover CarsSee

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

Snow

When there is snow on Aiguille du Midi

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
Summit3,842 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 up2,451 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
Chamonix-Mont-Blanc1,060 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

Aiguille du Midi, 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 4 °C; on January nights it falls to about -25 °C. In 8 months of the year it stays below freezing at the top even in the afternoon. In July the 0 °C line climbs to about 4,480 m, above the summit: the top thaws on an average afternoon. Across the region, April is the driest month (74 mm) and May the wettest (117 mm).

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

Month	Summit high °C	Summit low °C	Chamonix-Mont-Blanc high °C	0 °C line (m)	Rain & snow (mm)	Wet days	Sun h/day
January	-16	-25	2	1,330	107	12	3.3
February	-16	-25	2	1,410	77	11	4.5
March	-13	-20	6	1,900	94	13	5.5
April	-7	-16	12	2,820	74	13	6.3
May	-2	-12	16	3,540	117	18	6.6
June	2	-7	20	4,210	105	16	8.5
July	4	-6	22	4,480	103	15	8.8
August	4	-6	22	4,450	105	14	7.9
September	0	-10	18	3,900	76	13	6.9
October	-4	-14	14	3,270	86	13	5.0
November	-10	-18	8	2,220	94	14	3.1
December	-15	-23	3	1,560	110	14	2.6

Estimate: the NASA POWER climate of a ~55 km cell (average height 1,714 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 Aiguille du Midi

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

A lift reaches Aiguille du Midi 2 at 3,777 m — just 65 m below the summit.

27mountain huts and shelters
Rifugio Gabriele Boccalatte e Mario Piolti (2,806 m), Rifugio Pavillon (2,174 m), Refuge de la Charpoua (2,841 m), Refuge de Bellachat (2,136 m) and 23 more
20cable cars, gondolas, chairlifts and rack railways
TPH Plan de l'Aiguille, Brévent, Col Cornu, Charlanon and 16 more
12ski areas
Passy - Plaine Joux, Tremplin du Grepon, Courmayeur, Les Houches (Chamonix) and 8 more
102waymarked hiking routes
Sentier des Gardes, Plan de l'Aiguille - Montenvers, Rocher des Mottets - Montenvers, Lac Cornu and 98 more
1via ferratas
Via Corda Alpina
72climbing crags and routes
Aiguille des 2 Aigles - Secteur du Plan, Aiguille du Midi - Versant Nord, Aiguille des Pèlerins - Secteur du Plan, Caïman - Pointe de Lépiney and 68 more
57named glaciers
Glacier des Rognons, Glacier des Grands Montets, Glacier de Bionnassay, Glacier de Taconnaz and 53 more
63viewpoints
Mont Blanc / Monte Bianco, Signal Forbes, Les Sources de l'Arveyron, Point de vue sur la Mer de Glace and 59 more
22campsites
Bivouac du Rognon des Drus, Camping Les Arolles, bivouac Brévent, Mer de Glace and 18 more
125hotels, B&Bs and chalets
Hôtel Eden, La Vallée Blanche, Le Morgane, Le Refuge des Aiglons and 121 more
157restaurants and cafés

How hard are the paths?

239 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

Chamonix-Mont-Blanc5 km · 1,060 m
Les Houches6 km · 1,038 m
Courmayeur11 km · 1,224 m
Saint-Gervais-les-Bains13 km · 840 m
Les Contamines-Montjoie14 km · 1,176 m
Prè Saint Didier15 km · 1,021 m
Passy16 km · 654 m
Morgex18 km · 923 m

Car hire at GVA airport (Geneva)Discover Cars · Affiliate link

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

Aiguilles Rouges @ Refuge de Moëde Anterne — Rémih · 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	-16	-16	-13	-7	-2	2	4	4	0	-4	-10	-15
2020	+2.0	+2.4	+0.8	+3.6	+1.9	−2.1	+0.7	+1.0	+1.1	−2.8	+3.2	−0.5
2021	−1.7	+1.8	+0.8	−0.9	−3.0	+1.3	−0.8	−1.3	+1.5	+0.2	+0.1	+0.8
2022	+0.8	+1.4	+1.2	+0.8	+2.9	+3.2	+4.4	+3.7	−0.2	+3.5	+0.8	+1.3
2023	+0.5	+4.0	+3.2	−1.1	+0.5	+1.5	+1.4	+1.9	+4.9	+2.9	−1.5	+1.2
2024	+1.7	+3.3	+3.1	−0.1	−0.4	−0.1	+1.6	+3.0	−1.4	+1.4	+1.9	+0.7
2025	+1.9	+2.0	+2.8	+3.2	+0.3	+3.8	−0.7	+2.2	+0.2	−0.9	+0.2	+2.3

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

Nearby

More mountains nearby

4,806 mMont Blanc

Italy5 km away

4,208 mGrandes Jorasses

France8 km away

4,248 mMont Blanc du Tacul

France2 km away

4,465 mMont Maudit

Italy4 km away

4,122 mAiguille Verte

France9 km away

4,013 mDent du Géant

France5 km away

About these numbers

Names, elevation, prominence	Wikidata (Q404728) · 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.

The family

Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.

beaches

Find your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit

lakes

Every lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit

mountains

Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.You are here

waterfalls Cascadyas

Every waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit

islands

Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Coming soonVisit

rivers

Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Coming soonVisit

canyonsCanyonyasEvery canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Coming soonVisit