Mountain·Switzerland

Nadelhorn

4,327m

Mischabel group

User DrTW on nl.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Elevation: 4,327m
Prominence: 207m
Isolation: 1.7km
Relief: 2,522mabove the lowest point within 5 km
Steepest slope: 57°within 1 km of the summit
Snow at the summit: All yearSee month by month ↓
Summit: 46.1094°N, 7.8642°E

Mountain in the Pennine Alps

Nadelhorn is a mountain in the Mischabel group (Switzerland). Its summit stands 4,327 m above sea level. Its prominence — how far it rises above the highest saddle linking it to a taller summit — is 207 m, and the nearest higher ground is 1.7 km away.

From the lowest point within 5 km (1,805 m), it rises 2,522 m. The steepest side is the north face: 35° on average over the first kilometre. In places the ground near the top reaches 57° — terrain for climbers, not walkers.

The nearest town is Saas-Fee, 5 km away at 1,800 m: 2,527 m below the summit.

Nadelhorn 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

9.0/10

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.

2.5/2.5118 waymarked routes and 196 path sections nearby
1.5/1.511 huts and shelters
2.0/22,527 m of ascent from the valley
1.0/1.5207 m of prominence
1.0/1.54 months with summit afternoons above −5 °C
1.0/1via ferratas, climbing and glaciers

Ski score

9.5/10

3.6/4172 km of downhill runs
1.5/1.576 ski lifts
1.4/1.51,429 m between the lowest and highest lift station
3.0/38 months of snow at about 2,274 m

Runs by difficulty

Easy 42 km
Intermediate 99 km
Difficult 10 km
Freeride 20 km

Snow season on the slopes (estimate)

Around 2,274 m, in the middle of the ski area: snow from November to June (some years from October to June).

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

76 lifts · lift stations from 1,560 to 2,989 m · 22 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 Nadelhorn

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
Summit4,327 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 up3,064 msnow from October to July (some years from September to July)	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	No snow	Snow some of the time	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month
Saas-Fee1,800 msnow 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 on the ground all month	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	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
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

Nadelhorn, 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 1 °C; on January nights it falls to about -29 °C. In 10 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, January is the driest month (55 mm) and May the wettest (143 mm).

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

Month	Summit high °C	Summit low °C	Saas-Fee high °C	0 °C line (m)	Rain & snow (mm)	Wet days	Sun h/day
January	-20	-29	-3	1,290	55	11	4.2
February	-19	-28	-2	1,430	56	10	5.5
March	-16	-24	1	1,940	72	12	6.4
April	-11	-18	6	2,680	101	15	5.9
May	-6	-14	11	3,430	143	19	5.7
June	-1	-10	16	4,190	124	18	7.4
July	1	-8	18	4,510	113	17	7.9
August	1	-9	17	4,420	125	16	7.1
September	-3	-12	13	3,820	90	14	6.1
October	-8	-16	8	3,060	101	14	4.7
November	-14	-21	2	2,120	131	14	3.4
December	-19	-27	-2	1,450	71	12	3.5

Estimate: the NASA POWER climate of a ~55 km cell (average height 1,771 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 Nadelhorn

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

A lift reaches Alpin Express II at 2,989 m — just 1,338 m below the summit.

11mountain huts and shelters
Mischabelhütte (3,340 m), Britanniahütte (3,030 m), Mischabeljochbiwak SAC (3,847 m), Täschhütte (2,701 m) and 7 more
23cable cars, gondolas, chairlifts and rack railways
Längfluh, Längfluh Sessel, Morenia, Alpin Express I and 19 more
11ski areas
Saas Fee, Zermatt - Breuil-Cervinia, Stomping Grounds (summer snowpark), Saas-Almagell and 7 more
118waymarked hiking routes
Bärenfalle-Saas-Fee Post, Hannigalp-Saas-Fee, Swiss Tour Monte Rosa, Tour Monte Rosa tappa 6 and 114 more
4via ferratas
Gorge Alpine Feeschlucht, Via Ferrata Britannia
14climbing crags and routes
Klettergarten Heimischgarten, Klettergarten Zur Kapelle, Klettergarten Feechi, Medji and 10 more
19named glaciers
Mellichgletscher, Bidergletscher, Hohlaubgletscher, Balfringletscher and 15 more
22viewpoints
Aussichtspunkt Arigscheis, Stromschnelle, Wasserkopf/Bergbach, Wegweiser mit Abzweigung Alpinwanderweg and 18 more
7campsites
Stellplatz Wildi, Stellplatz Saas-Fee, Alphubel, Attermenzen and 3 more
266hotels, B&Bs and chalets
Täscher Hof, Hotel National, Hotel Sonne, Edelweiss Zermatt and 262 more
155restaurants and cafés

How hard are the paths?

196 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

Saas-Fee5 km · 1,800 m
Saas-Grund6 km · 1,564 m
Sankt Niklaus9 km · 1,115 m
Grächen10 km · 1,617 m
Zermatt13 km · 1,608 m
Stalden14 km · 777 m
Visperterminen17 km · 1,328 m
Macugnaga17 km · 1,315 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

Dom, Nadelhorn, Hohberghorn and Dürrenhorn (15214340430) — Björn S... · CC BY-SA 2.0

Dom, Nadelhorn, Hohberghorn and Dürrenhorn (15222159660) — Björn S... · CC BY-SA 2.0

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	-20	-19	-16	-11	-6	-1	1	1	-3	-8	-14	-19
2020	+2.2	+2.1	−0.3	+1.7	+1.9	−1.4	+1.3	+1.0	+0.7	−1.9	+3.1	−0.9
2021	−1.4	+1.6	+0.3	−1.5	−1.9	+0.2	−0.5	+0.2	+1.0	−0.4	−0.1	+1.2
2022	+2.4	+3.1	+2.0	+1.4	+2.8	+2.5	+3.1	+1.7	−0.3	+3.7	+0.9	+0.5
2023	+0.3	+2.6	+3.8	+0.3	±0.0	+0.2	+1.3	+1.5	+2.5	+3.0	−0.4	+2.3
2024	+1.5	+3.4	+0.6	−0.6	−1.0	−0.6	+1.3	+2.4	−2.1	+0.8	+2.0	+2.5
2025	+1.7	+1.8	+1.5	+2.0	+1.0	+3.4	−0.2	+1.3	+0.2	+0.1	−0.2	+2.4

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

Nearby

More mountains nearby

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About these numbers

Names, elevation, prominence	Wikidata (Q30426) · 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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