Mountain·Austria

Hochkönig

2,941m

Hochkönig mountain range

StVeit Maps · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Elevation: 2,941m
Prominence: 2,181m
Isolation: 34km
Relief: 1,952mabove the lowest point within 5 km
Steepest slope: 70°within 1 km of the summit
Snow at the summit: Sep–JulSee month by month ↓
First ascent: 1826
Summit: 47.4206°N, 13.0622°E

Mountain in the Berchtesgadener Alps in Salzburg

Hochkönig is a mountain in the Hochkönig mountain range (Austria). Its summit stands 2,941 m above sea level. Its prominence — how far it rises above the highest saddle linking it to a taller summit — is 2,181 m, and the nearest higher ground is 34 km away. It was first climbed in 1826.

From the lowest point within 5 km (989 m), it rises 1,952 m. The steepest side is the south face: 47° on average over the first kilometre. In places the ground near the top reaches 70° — terrain for climbers, not walkers.

The nearest town is Dienten am Hochkönig, 6 km away at 1,064 m: 1,877 m below the summit.

Hochkönig 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.

2.5/2.5102 waymarked routes and 358 path sections nearby
1.5/1.528 huts and shelters
1.9/21,877 m of ascent from the valley
1.4/1.52,181 m of prominence
1.5/1.57 months with summit afternoons above −5 °C
1.0/1via ferratas, climbing and glaciers

Ski score

7.8/10

3.3/4118 km of downhill runs
1.5/1.542 ski lifts
0.0/1.5lift station heights not mapped
3.0/36 months of snow at about 1,564 m

Runs by difficulty

Easy 60 km
Intermediate 47 km
Difficult 9 km
Freeride 1 km

Snow season on the slopes (estimate)

Around 1,564 m, in the middle of the ski area: snow from November to April (some years from November to May).

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

42 lifts · 67 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 Hochkönig

At the summit, snow from September to July (some years all year). Month by month below, at different heights on the way up.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Summit2,941 msnow from September to July (some years all year)	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 some of the time	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 up2,002 msnow from November to May (some years from October 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	Snow some of the time	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month
Dienten am Hochkönig1,064 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

Hochkönig, 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 9 °C; on January nights it falls to about -20 °C. In 6 months of the year it stays below freezing at the top even in the afternoon. In July the 0 °C line climbs to about 4,370 m, above the summit: the top thaws on an average afternoon. Across the region, February is the driest month (72 mm) and August the wettest (184 mm).

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

Month	Summit high °C	Summit low °C	Dienten am Hochkönig high °C	0 °C line (m)	Rain & snow (mm)	Wet days	Sun h/day
January	-12	-20	0	1,110	90	13	3.0
February	-11	-19	1	1,260	72	13	4.5
March	-6	-16	6	1,940	89	16	5.2
April	0	-11	12	2,860	85	15	5.7
May	4	-7	16	3,520	151	19	5.5
June	8	-2	20	4,110	176	21	6.4
July	9	-1	22	4,370	184	22	7.0
August	9	-1	21	4,340	184	19	6.5
September	4	-6	16	3,590	135	15	5.1
October	0	-10	12	2,990	102	14	4.5
November	-6	-14	6	2,060	76	13	2.8
December	-11	-18	2	1,310	82	14	2.4

Estimate: the NASA POWER climate of a ~55 km cell (average height 1,233 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 Hochkönig

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

N 5 km

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 14 × 14 km, north up. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

28mountain huts and shelters
Mitterbergalm, Eckberthütte (1,140 m), Pichl Alm (1,435 m), Franz-Eduard-Matras-Haus (2,941 m) and 24 more
9cable cars, gondolas, chairlifts and rack railways
Zachhofalm, Dachegg, Kings Cab, Fellersbach and 5 more
3ski areas
Hochkönig, Ski amadé, Hochkeil
102waymarked hiking routes
AV Weg 401, Salzburger Almenweg, Salzburger Almenweg (Alternative), Nordalpenweg 01 and 98 more
10via ferratas
Königsjodler, Grandlspitz-Klettersteig, Selbhorn-Klettersteig and 7 more
10climbing crags and routes
Schluchtkante, Das Leben ist schön, Südwestriss, Topolino and 6 more
2named glaciers
Übergossene Alm
13viewpoints
Schoberkopf, Marbachhöhe, Brennerköpfl Panoramablick and 10 more
—campsites
102hotels, B&Bs and chalets
Bergheimat, Alpendomizil, Schnegghof, Gasthof Pension Weißes Rößl and 98 more
77restaurants and cafés

How hard are the paths?

358 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

Dienten am Hochkönig6 km · 1,064 m
Mühlbach am Hochkönig7 km · 886 m
Werfen11 km · 547 m
Bischofshofen12 km · 558 m
Sankt Veit im Pongau12 km · 763 m
Mitterberghütten12 km · 564 m
Maria Alm am Steinernen Meer12 km · 796 m
Reinbach13 km · 594 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

Hochkönig8357 — Ewald Gabardi · CC BY-SA 3.0

Hochkönig8361 — Ewald Gabardi · 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	-12	-11	-6	0	4	8	9	9	4	0	-6	-11
2020	+2.4	+3.1	+0.2	+2.4	−1.4	−1.4	−0.4	+0.9	+1.2	−2.3	+2.3	+0.8
2021	−1.4	+3.9	−0.9	−3.5	−3.1	+2.8	+1.1	−1.9	+2.4	−0.5	−0.3	−0.5
2022	+0.6	+1.1	+2.6	−1.1	+2.2	+3.2	+1.4	+0.7	−1.0	+4.5	+0.8	+1.2
2023	+1.2	+1.2	+2.2	−3.6	−0.3	+1.2	+1.3	+1.1	+5.1	+3.6	−1.9	+1.0
2024	+1.3	+5.4	+3.9	+1.2	+1.2	+0.8	+2.3	+3.4	+0.2	+2.6	+1.0	+0.5
2025	+2.7	+4.0	+3.1	+2.0	−1.4	+4.0	−0.7	+0.8	+2.2	−1.8	−0.3	+2.7

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

Nearby

More mountains nearby

2,995 mHoher Dachstein

3,564 mGroßes Wiesbachhorn

Austria37 km away

About these numbers

Names, elevation, prominence	Wikidata (Q262545) · 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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