Massif·Italy

Gran Sasso d'Italia

2,912m

Appennino Abruzzese

Fiat 500e · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Elevation: 2,912m
Relief: 2,288mabove the lowest point within 5 km
Steepest slope: 62°within 1 km of the summit
Snow at the summit: Oct–JunSee month by month ↓
Summit: 42.4697°N, 13.5644°E

Mountain located in the Abruzzo region of central Italy

Gran Sasso d'Italia is a mountain massif in the Appennino Abruzzese (Italy). Its summit stands 2,912 m above sea level.

From the lowest point within 5 km (624 m), it rises 2,288 m. The steepest side is the south-east face: 39° on average over the first kilometre. In places the ground near the top reaches 62° — terrain for climbers, not walkers.

The nearest town is Pietracamela, 6 km away at 1,005 m: 1,907 m below the summit.

Gran Sasso d'Italia 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

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.

2.5/2.577 waymarked routes and 172 path sections nearby
1.5/1.59 huts and shelters
1.9/21,907 m of ascent from the valley
1.4/1.51,373 m of prominence
1.5/1.59 months with summit afternoons above −5 °C
1.0/1via ferratas, climbing and glaciers

Ski score

6.1/10

2.0/416 km of downhill runs
0.5/1.513 ski lifts
0.6/1.5600 m between the lowest and highest lift station
3.0/35 months of snow at about 1,750 m

Runs by difficulty

Easy 7 km
Intermediate 8 km
Freeride 2 km

Snow season on the slopes (estimate)

Around 1,750 m, in the middle of the ski area: snow from December to April (some years from November to April).

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

13 lifts · lift stations from 1,450 to 2,050 m · 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 Gran Sasso d'Italia

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
Summit2,912 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 up1,958 msnow from December to April (some years 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 some of the time	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	Snow some of the time	Snow on the ground all month
Pietracamela1,005 moccasional snow from January to February	Snow some of the time	Snow some of the time	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow

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

Gran Sasso d'Italia, 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 14 °C; on January nights it falls to about -14 °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 5,070 m, above the summit: the top thaws on an average afternoon. Across the region, August is the driest month (32 mm) and November the wettest (90 mm).

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

Month	Summit high °C	Summit low °C	Pietracamela high °C	0 °C line (m)	Rain & snow (mm)	Wet days	Sun h/day
January	-8	-14	5	1,720	82	11	3.5
February	-7	-14	5	1,840	75	10	4.3
March	-4	-12	9	2,360	68	10	5.2
April	0	-8	13	2,950	59	11	6.3
May	5	-4	17	3,640	58	10	7.6
June	10	0	23	4,490	46	8	9.8
July	14	3	26	5,070	34	6	10.9
August	14	3	26	5,070	32	7	9.9
September	8	-1	20	4,150	67	10	7.0
October	3	-5	16	3,430	74	11	5.5
November	-2	-9	10	2,600	90	13	3.8
December	-7	-13	6	1,900	84	12	3.5

Estimate: the NASA POWER climate of a ~55 km cell (average height 672 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 Gran Sasso d'Italia

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

A lift reaches La Madonnina at 2,050 m — just 862 m below the summit.

9mountain huts and shelters
Rifugio Carlo Franchetti (2,433 m), Rifugio Campo Imperatore, Rifugio Duca degli Abruzzi (2,388 m), Rifugio Garibaldi (2,230 m) and 5 more
8cable cars, gondolas, chairlifts and rack railways
Funivia del Gran Sasso d'Italia, Fontari, La Madonnina, Seggiovia Abetone and 4 more
2ski areas
Campo Imperatore
77waymarked hiking routes
Campo Imperatore - Sella dei Grilli, Rifugio Duca degli Abruzzi-Sella di Monte Aquila, Sella dei Grilli - Pizzo Intermesoli and 74 more
8via ferratas
Ferrata Bafile, Ferrata dei Ginepri (ex Brizio), Ferrata del Calderone, Ferrata Ricci and 4 more
9climbing crags and routes
Città di Pietra, Vena dell'Aschiero, Arapietra, Sperone Franchetti and 5 more
2named glaciers
Conca del Sambuco, Ghiacciaio del Calderone
13viewpoints
Valico di Monte Cristo, Vista Ghiacciaio Calderone and 11 more
2campsites
Bivacco piane del fiume, Camping Funivia del Gran Sasso
33hotels, B&Bs and chalets
Cristallo, Il Parco, Hotel Giampy, Fiordigili and 29 more
47restaurants and cafés

How hard are the paths?

172 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

Pietracamela6 km · 1,005 m
Isola del Gran Sasso d'Italia8 km · 415 m
Fano Adriano10 km · 745 m
Tossicia11 km · 409 m
Nerito11 km · 835 m
Colledara12 km · 430 m
Castelli12 km · 497 m
Montorio al Vomano14 km · 263 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

Corno Piccolo, Gran Sasso, Province of Teramo, Abruzzo, Italy - panoramio (1) — trolvag · CC BY-SA 3.0

Corno Piccolo, Gran Sasso, Province of Teramo, Abruzzo, Italy - panoramio — trolvag · 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	-8	-7	-4	0	5	10	14	14	8	3	-2	-7
2020	+1.5	+3.8	±0.0	+0.3	+0.6	−1.6	−0.2	+1.2	+1.6	−0.5	+1.0	+0.9
2021	−1.0	+2.4	−1.7	−2.0	−0.2	+1.6	+1.5	+1.3	+2.0	−1.7	±0.0	+0.2
2022	−0.1	+1.8	−2.3	−1.1	+2.5	+4.2	+2.5	+0.1	+0.7	+3.4	+1.0	+3.2
2023	+1.1	+1.3	+1.7	−1.7	−1.0	−0.3	+3.0	+0.7	+2.6	+4.6	+1.4	+2.5
2024	+2.0	+3.9	+2.3	+2.0	+0.9	+2.5	+3.1	+2.4	+0.8	+1.9	+1.0	+0.6
2025	+2.1	+1.8	+0.7	+0.6	−0.4	+3.5	+0.9	−0.2	+2.6	−0.6	+0.6	+2.1

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

Nearby

More mountains nearby

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Italy197 km away

About these numbers

Names, elevation, prominence	Wikidata (Q216869) · 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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