Mountain·Italy / Switzerland

Mont Vélan

3,731m

Pennine Alps

Herzi Pinki · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Elevation: 3,731m
Prominence: 621m
Isolation: 5.5km
Relief: 2,174mabove the lowest point within 5 km
Steepest slope: 58°within 1 km of the summit
Snow at the summit: All yearSee month by month ↓
Summit: 45.8917°N, 7.2517°E

Mountain

Mont Vélan is a mountain in the Pennine Alps (Italy). Its summit stands 3,731 m above sea level. Its prominence — how far it rises above the highest saddle linking it to a taller summit — is 621 m, and the nearest higher ground is 5.5 km away.

From the lowest point within 5 km (1,557 m), it rises 2,174 m. The steepest side is the south-west face: 34° on average over the first kilometre. In places the ground near the top reaches 58° — terrain for climbers, not walkers.

The nearest town is Ollomont, 6 km away at 1,356 m: 2,375 m below the summit.

Mont Vélan 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

9.7/10

Difficulty to the top

Alpine climb

Most path sections around the top are T6 on the SAC hiking scale. Glaciers around the top.

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

2.5/2.555 waymarked routes and 195 path sections nearby
1.5/1.510 huts and shelters
2.0/22,375 m of ascent from the valley
1.2/1.5621 m of prominence
1.5/1.56 months with summit afternoons above −5 °C
1.0/1via ferratas, climbing and glaciers

Ski score

6.6/10

3.0/472 km of downhill runs
0.6/1.516 ski lifts
0.0/1.5lift station heights not mapped
3.0/37 months of snow at about 1,856 m

Runs by difficulty

Easy 30 km
Intermediate 30 km
Difficult 10 km
Freeride 2 km

Snow season on the slopes (estimate)

Around 1,856 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

16 lifts · 9 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 Mont Vélan

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
Summit3,731 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 up2,544 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
Ollomont1,356 msnow from December to April (some years from November 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	Snow some of the time	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

Mont Vélan, 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 5 °C; on January nights it falls to about -24 °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 4,510 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	Ollomont high °C	0 °C line (m)	Rain & snow (mm)	Wet days	Sun h/day
January	-15	-24	0	1,370	63	11	3.3
February	-15	-24	1	1,470	50	10	4.5
March	-12	-20	4	1,940	63	12	5.5
April	-7	-15	9	2,700	70	14	6.3
May	-1	-10	14	3,510	109	18	6.6
June	3	-6	19	4,250	97	17	8.5
July	5	-4	20	4,510	96	16	8.8
August	5	-5	20	4,450	99	15	7.9
September	1	-8	16	3,880	68	14	6.9
October	-3	-12	12	3,200	72	13	5.0
November	-10	-17	6	2,200	91	14	3.1
December	-14	-22	1	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. 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 Mont Vélan

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

10mountain huts and shelters
Cabane de Valsorey (3,037 m), Cabane du Vélan (2,642 m), Rifugio Franco Chiarella all'Amianthe (2,979 m), Rifugio Letey-Champillon (2,465 m) and 6 more
3cable cars, gondolas, chairlifts and rack railways
Saint-Rhémy, Testa Bassa
3ski areas
Crévacol, Vichères-Bavon, Bourg-Saint-Pierre
55waymarked hiking routes
Via Francigena, Tour du Lac des Toules, Via Francigena Valle d'Aosta, L'Allée Des Soupirs and 51 more
1via ferratas
1climbing crags and routes
10named glaciers
Glacier de Tseudet, Glacier du Croissant, Plateau du Couloir, Ghiacciaio di By and 6 more
5viewpoints
4campsites
Camping Pineta, Camping del Mulino, Gran Combin, Camping du Grand Saint Bernard
16hotels, B&Bs and chalets
Hôtel du Vieux Moulin, Col Serena, Hôtel Suisse, Mont Velan and 12 more
29restaurants and cafés

How hard are the paths?

195 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

Ollomont6 km · 1,356 m
Saint-Oyen8 km · 1,372 m
Etroubles8 km · 1,270 m
Doues9 km · 1,176 m
Valpelline9 km · 960 m
San Leonardo9 km · 1,534 m
La Cretaz-Roisan13 km · 873 m
Gignod13 km · 988 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

Cabane du Vélan e monte Vélan — Francofranco56 · Public domain

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	-15	-15	-12	-7	-1	3	5	5	1	-3	-10	-14
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

4,208 mGrandes Jorasses

France21 km away

3,875 mLa Ruinette

Switzerland15 km away

About these numbers

Names, elevation, prominence	Wikidata (Q669860) · 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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