Mountain·Switzerland

Bishorn

4,149m

Pennine Alps

Christian David · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Elevation: 4,149m
Prominence: 90m
Isolation: 0.8km
Relief: 2,687mabove the lowest point within 5 km
Steepest slope: 64°within 1 km of the summit
Snow at the summit: All yearSee month by month ↓
Summit: 46.1178°N, 7.7147°E

Mountain in the Pennine Alps

Bishorn is a mountain in the Pennine Alps (Switzerland). Its summit stands 4,149 m above sea level. Its prominence — how far it rises above the highest saddle linking it to a taller summit — is 90 m.

From the lowest point within 5 km (1,462 m), it rises 2,687 m. The steepest side is the north-east face: 37° on average over the first kilometre. In places the ground near the top reaches 64° — terrain for climbers, not walkers.

The nearest town is Sankt Niklaus, 10 km away at 1,115 m: 3,034 m below the summit.

Bishorn 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

8.7/10

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.

2.5/2.559 waymarked routes and 84 path sections nearby
1.5/1.512 huts and shelters
2.0/23,034 m of ascent from the valley
0.8/1.590 m of prominence
1.2/1.55 months with summit afternoons above −5 °C
0.6/1via ferratas, climbing and glaciers

Ski score

7.9/10

3.4/4119 km of downhill runs
1.5/1.544 ski lifts
0.0/1.5lift station heights not mapped
3.0/36 months of snow at about 1,615 m

Runs by difficulty

Easy 23 km
Intermediate 62 km
Difficult 27 km
Freeride 6 km

Snow season on the slopes (estimate)

Around 1,615 m, in the middle of the ski area: snow from November to April.

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

44 lifts · 11 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 Bishorn

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
Summit4,149 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 up2,632 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
Sankt Niklaus1,115 msnow from December to March (some years from December to April)	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	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

Bishorn, 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 2 °C; on January nights it falls to about -27 °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 4,510 m, above the summit: the top thaws on an average afternoon. Across the region, February is the driest month (50 mm) and May the wettest (109 mm).

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

Month	Summit high °C	Summit low °C	Sankt Niklaus high °C	0 °C line (m)	Rain & snow (mm)	Wet days	Sun h/day
January	-18	-27	2	1,370	63	11	3.3
February	-17	-27	2	1,470	50	10	4.5
March	-14	-23	5	1,940	63	12	5.5
April	-9	-18	10	2,700	70	14	6.3
May	-4	-13	16	3,510	109	18	6.6
June	1	-9	20	4,250	97	17	8.5
July	2	-7	22	4,510	96	16	8.8
August	2	-8	22	4,450	99	15	7.9
September	-2	-11	18	3,880	68	14	6.9
October	-6	-15	14	3,200	72	13	5.0
November	-13	-20	7	2,200	91	14	3.1
December	-17	-25	3	1,530	68	12	2.6

Estimate: the NASA POWER climate of a ~55 km cell (average height 2,251 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 Bishorn

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

12mountain huts and shelters
Weisshornhütte SAC (2,932 m), Kinhütte (2,584 m), Cabane d'Arpitettaz (2,786 m), Cabane du Mountet CAS (2,886 m) and 8 more
5cable cars, gondolas, chairlifts and rack railways
Luftseilbahn St. Niklaus - Jungen, St. Niklaus - Sparren, Zinal - Sorebois and 2 more
4ski areas
Zermatt - Breuil-Cervinia, Zinal / Grimentz, Grächen
59waymarked hiking routes
Swiss Tour Monte Rosa, Tour Monte Rosa tappa 9, Randa Hängebrückenweg, Panoramaweg Turtmanntal and 55 more
—via ferratas
4climbing crags and routes
Medji, Mattsand
26named glaciers
Glacier du Grand Cornier, Glacier Durand, Glacier de Zinal, Bisgletscher and 22 more
8viewpoints
Roc de la Vache, Aussichtspunkt Arigscheis, Observatoire and 5 more
5campsites
Relais de la Tzoucdana, Stellplatz Zinal, Stellplatz Wildi, Alphubel and 1 more
57hotels, B&Bs and chalets
Täscher Hof, Europe, Chalet Donadea, Auberge Les Bondes and 53 more
53restaurants and cafés

How hard are the paths?

84 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

Sankt Niklaus10 km · 1,115 m
Zermatt11 km · 1,608 m
Grächen13 km · 1,617 m
Saas-Fee16 km · 1,800 m
Evolène17 km · 1,340 m
Saas-Grund17 km · 1,564 m
Stalden18 km · 777 m
Visperterminen21 km · 1,328 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

Bishorn-weisshorn — Jean-Louis Pitteloud · CC BY-SA 1.0

Brunegggletscher Bishorn — Whgler · 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	2	2	-2	-6	-13	-17
2020	+2.3	+3.1	+0.5	+2.0	+2.1	−1.8	+1.0	+0.8	+1.1	−2.4	+3.5	±0.0
2021	−1.7	+2.9	−0.3	−0.5	−2.5	+1.0	−0.2	−0.4	+1.6	−0.3	+0.3	+1.5
2022	+1.3	+1.8	+1.0	+1.5	+3.0	+2.4	+3.2	+2.1	−0.4	+3.6	+0.5	+1.4
2023	+0.3	+2.2	+2.1	−0.3	+0.4	+0.7	+1.3	+0.9	+4.1	+2.4	−0.9	+2.2
2024	+2.2	+4.1	+1.5	−1.5	−0.5	−0.3	+2.1	+2.9	−2.0	+0.8	+2.7	+1.6
2025	+2.1	+2.6	+1.2	+2.3	+0.7	+4.0	−0.7	+1.4	+0.5	−0.4	+0.3	+2.5

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

Nearby

More mountains nearby

Switzerland11 km away

4,221 mZinalrothorn

Switzerland6 km away

4,634 mDufourspitze

Switzerland23 km away

4,357 mDent Blanche

Switzerland12 km away

About these numbers

Names, elevation, prominence	Wikidata (Q30464) · 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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