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Mount Baker in 3D: real relief (Copernicus DEM) and satellite image (Sentinel-2)

Mountain·UgandaUganda

Mount Baker

4,844m

Rwenzori Mountains

Summit weather

3D view drawn from Copernicus WorldDEM-30 (© DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA) and Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX IT Services GmbH, CC BY 4.0

Elevation
4,844m
Prominence
507m
Relief
1,571mabove the lowest point within 5 km
Steepest slope
63°within 1 km of the summit
Snow at the summit
All yearSee month by month ↓
Summit
0.3672°N, 29.8969°E

Mountain in the Rwenzori Mountains National Park in Uganda

Mount Baker is a mountain in the Rwenzori Mountains (Uganda). Its summit stands 4,844 m above sea level. Its prominence — how far it rises above the highest saddle linking it to a taller summit — is 507 m.

From the lowest point within 5 km (3,273 m), it rises 1,571 m. The steepest side is the north face: 42° on average over the first kilometre. In places the ground near the top reaches 63° — terrain for climbers, not walkers.

The nearest town is Kilembe, 22 km away at 1,295 m: 3,549 m below the summit.

Read more on Wikipedia

Scores

Mount Baker 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

7.0/10

Difficulty to the top

Alpine climb

Glaciers around the top.

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

  • 0.5/2.51 waymarked routes and 1 path sections nearby
  • 1.5/1.510 huts and shelters
  • 2.0/23,549 m of ascent from the valley
  • 1.2/1.5507 m of prominence
  • 1.5/1.512 months with summit afternoons above −5 °C
  • 0.3/1via ferratas, climbing and glaciers

Ski score

—

No ski runs within 12 km in OpenStreetMap.

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

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 Mount Baker

At the summit, snow all year round. Month by month below, at different heights on the way up.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Summit4,844 msnow all year round
Snow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all month
Halfway up3,070 mno snow
No snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snow
Kilembe1,295 mno snow
No snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo 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

Mount Baker, 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 February afternoon the summit reaches about 5 °C; on July nights it falls to about -7 °C. Afternoons at the top are above freezing in every month of the average year. In February the 0 °C line climbs to about 5,630 m, above the summit: the top thaws on an average afternoon. Across the region, February is the driest month (69 mm) and October the wettest (170 mm).

1,000 m2,000 m3,000 m4,000 m5,000 m6,000 mSUMMIT · 4,844 mKILEMBE · 1,295 mJanuary: 5,470 mFebruary: 5,630 mMarch: 5,490 mApril: 5,320 mMay: 5,270 mJune: 5,260 mJuly: 5,300 mAugust: 5,300 mSeptember: 5,300 mOctober: 5,200 mNovember: 5,130 mDecember: 5,270 mJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
0 °C on an average afternoon 0 °C at dawn the summit
MonthSummit high °CSummit low °CKilembe high °C0 °C line (m)Rain & snow (mm)Wet daysSun h/day
January4-6275,47071136.9
February5-6285,63069136.7
March4-5275,490137226.1
April3-6265,320138266.3
May3-6265,270123256.7
June3-6265,26097206.4
July3-7265,30086176.1
August3-6265,300133235.6
September3-6265,300155246.1
October2-6255,200170285.6
November2-6255,130163275.8
December3-6265,27099196.5

Estimate: the NASA POWER climate of a ~55 km cell (average height 1,503 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
4,844 m2,900 m0 km2 km4 km6 km8 km10 km12 km14 km16 kmWE
South – north
4,844 m3,904 m0 km2 km4 km6 km8 km10 km12 km14 km16 kmSN
Steepness by direction
30°N: 42°NNE: 37°NEE: 16°ESE: 38°SES: 22°SSW: 13°SWW: 29°WNW: 36°NW

Average slope of the first kilometre from the summit. The orange petal is the steepest side.

Around the mountain

Huts, lifts and trails around Mount Baker

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

Mount Baker seen from above (Sentinel-2) N 5 km

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

  • 10mountain huts and shelters

    Bujuku Hut (3,962 m), Guy Yeoman Hut (3,470 m), John Matte Hut (3,430 m), Kitandara Hut (4,023 m) and 6 more

  • —cable cars, gondolas, chairlifts and rack railways
  • —ski areas
  • 1waymarked hiking routes

    Central Circuit

  • —via ferratas
  • —climbing crags and routes
  • 30named glaciers

    Speke Glacier, Elizabeth Glacier, Coronation Glacier, Savoia Glacier and 26 more

  • —viewpoints
  • —campsites
  • —hotels, B&Bs and chalets
  • —restaurants and cafés

Towns at the foot

  • Kilembe22 km · 1,295 m

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

Mount Baker (Ruwenzori) from Bujuku Hut
Albert Backer · CC BY-SA 4.0
Mount Baker Helichrysum stuhlmannii
Rafał Kozubek · CC BY-SA 4.0
Il Ruwenzori, 1908 - BEIC IE7203615 - la valle a occidente del Baker
Luigi Amedeo di Savoia · 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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
1991–2020 average454333333223
2020−1.1−1.1−0.8−0.4−0.1−1.3−1.9−0.9−0.7−0.4−0.3−0.3
2021−2.0−1.6−1.2−1.0−0.5−0.6−1.2−0.1−0.3+0.6+0.1−0.4
2022−0.6−0.9+0.9+0.1−0.5−0.6+0.8−0.7−0.8±0.0−0.9−1.3
2023−0.7±0.0−1.4−0.2+0.9+0.1+1.3+2.2+1.5+0.5+0.7+0.6
2024−0.3+0.1+1.6+0.3+1.3+2.0+0.4+1.0+1.2+0.8+0.1−0.2
2025±0.0+0.7+0.5+0.5+0.4+0.7+1.3−0.1+2.5+1.9+1.5+1.7

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

About these numbers

Names, elevation, prominenceWikidata (Q253593) · CC0
Relief, 3D view, profilesCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
ClimateNASA POWER, 1991–2020 · CC BY 4.0
Around the mountain© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX 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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