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Pedraforca2

Mountain·SpainSpain

Pedraforca massif

2,506m

Cadí mountain range

Summit weather

Mikipons · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Elevation
2,506m
Prominence
654m
Isolation
5.2km
Relief
1,521mabove the lowest point within 5 km
Steepest slope
61°within 1 km of the summit
Snow at the summit
Nov–MaySee month by month ↓
Summit
42.2397°N, 1.7033°E

Mountain in Catalonia, Spain

Pedraforca massif is a mountain in the Cadí mountain range (Spain). Its summit stands 2,506 m above sea level. Its prominence — how far it rises above the highest saddle linking it to a taller summit — is 654 m, and the nearest higher ground is 5.2 km away.

From the lowest point within 5 km (985 m), it rises 1,521 m. The steepest side is the north-east face: 43° on average over the first kilometre. In places the ground near the top reaches 61° — terrain for climbers, not walkers.

The nearest town is Saldes, 3 km away at 1,365 m: 1,141 m below the summit.

Read more on Wikipedia

Scores

Pedraforca massif 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

8.2/10

Difficulty to the top

Hike

Most path sections around the top are T2 on the SAC hiking scale.

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

  • 2.5/2.521 waymarked routes and 126 path sections nearby
  • 1.5/1.57 huts and shelters
  • 1.1/21,141 m of ascent from the valley
  • 1.2/1.5654 m of prominence
  • 1.5/1.512 months with summit afternoons above −5 °C
  • 0.3/1via ferratas, climbing and glaciers

Ski score

4.3/10

  • 2.0/416 km of downhill runs
  • 0.5/1.514 ski lifts
  • 0.0/1.5lift station heights not mapped
  • 1.8/33 months of snow at about 1,865 m

Runs by difficulty

  • Beginner 2 km
  • Easy 7 km
  • Intermediate 5 km
  • Difficult 1 km

Snow season on the slopes (estimate)

Around 1,865 m, in the middle of the ski area: snow from January to March (some years from November to March).

  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec
  • Snow on the ground all month
  • Snow some of the time
  • No snow
  • This month

14 lifts · 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 Pedraforca massif

At the summit, snow from November to May. Month by month below, at different heights on the way up.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Summit2,506 msnow from November to May
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 monthNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all month
Halfway up1,936 msnow from January to March (some years from November to April)
Snow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow some of the timeNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowSnow some of the timeSnow some of the time
Saldes1,365 moccasional snow from December to February
Snow some of the timeSnow some of the timeNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowSnow some of the time
  • 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

Pedraforca massif, 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 18 °C; on February nights it falls to about -12 °C. In 3 months of the year it stays below freezing at the top even in the afternoon. In July the 0 °C line climbs to about 5,330 m, above the summit: the top thaws on an average afternoon. Across the region, December is the driest month (34 mm) and October the wettest (67 mm).

1,000 m2,000 m3,000 m4,000 m5,000 mSUMMIT · 2,506 mSALDES · 1,365 mJanuary: 2,190 mFebruary: 2,380 mMarch: 2,950 mApril: 3,450 mMay: 4,130 mJune: 4,920 mJuly: 5,330 mAugust: 5,220 mSeptember: 4,520 mOctober: 3,780 mNovember: 2,820 mDecember: 2,270 mJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
0 °C on an average afternoon 0 °C at dawn the summit
MonthSummit high °CSummit low °CSaldes high °C0 °C line (m)Rain & snow (mm)Wet daysSun h/day
January-2-1252,1904074.6
February-1-1272,3803565.5
March3-9102,9504786.2
April6-6143,45056106.4
May11-2184,13056107.4
June163234,9203589.1
July185265,3303569.9
August185255,2204289.1
September131204,5205197.8
October8-3163,7806796.2
November2-8102,8205694.9
December-2-1162,2703474.6

Estimate: the NASA POWER climate of a ~55 km cell (average height 823 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
2,506 m872 m0 km2 km4 km6 km8 km10 km12 km14 km16 kmWE
South – north
2,506 m1,127 m0 km2 km4 km6 km8 km10 km12 km14 km16 kmSN
Steepness by direction
30°N: 32°NNE: 43°NEE: 27°ESE: 24°SES: 27°SSW: 30°SWW: 24°WNW: 16°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 Pedraforca massif

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

Pedraforca massif 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.

  • 7mountain huts and shelters

    Refugi Serra d'Ensija (2,156 m), Refugi Lluís Estasen (1,673 m), Cabana del Gònec (1,760 m), Refugi Prat d'Aguiló (1,998 m) and 3 more

  • —cable cars, gondolas, chairlifts and rack railways
  • —ski areas
  • 21waymarked hiking routes

    Cavalls del Vent, La Gallina Pelada, Volta al Cadí-Moixeró, Sender del Pedraforca 360 and 17 more

  • —via ferratas
  • 2climbing crags and routes

    Rocodrom

  • —named glaciers
  • 18viewpoints

    Mirador de la Gargallosa, Mirador de les mines, Mirador de l'Espà, Mirador de Coll de Josa and 14 more

  • 24campsites

    Font Terrers, Càmping Mirador al Pedraforca, Terreny d'acampada El Verd, Terreny d'acampada El Peu del Grau and 20 more

  • 16hotels, B&Bs and chalets

    Cal Xic, Cal Ferrer, Hostal Pedraforca, Cal Roig and 12 more

  • 16restaurants and cafés

How hard are the paths?

126 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

  • Saldes3 km · 1,365 m
  • Gósol4 km · 1,437 m
  • Bagà13 km · 785 m
  • Toloriu15 km · 1,227 m
  • Bellver de Cerdanya16 km · 1,025 m
  • Sant Julià de Cerdanyola16 km · 965 m
  • Lles de Cerdanya17 km · 1,475 m
  • Berga19 km · 720 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

010 El Pedraforca des dels Munts (Sant Agustí de Lluçanès)
Enric · CC BY-SA 4.0
COLL DE JOVELL I PEDRAFORCA
Isidre blanc · 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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
1991–2020 average-2-136111618181382-2
2020+1.2+4.5−0.7−0.9+1.2−3.7−0.5−0.2−1.0−2.2+1.3−1.5
2021−2.0+1.6−0.5−1.9−1.6−1.3−1.1−0.3−0.1±0.0−1.4+2.1
2022+1.9+3.5−2.1−0.3+3.2+3.2+3.4+2.5+1.1+3.2+2.1+2.1
2023−0.1+1.6+3.2+3.3+0.7±0.0+2.0+2.7+2.5+2.8+2.3+3.0
2024+3.2+4.3+1.6+1.4−0.6−1.4+1.3+2.0−1.2±0.0+2.1+1.4
2025+1.1+1.7−2.1+0.5+0.1+3.1−0.7+1.6−0.5+0.7+0.1+1.1

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

About these numbers

Names, elevation, prominenceWikidata (Q1862666) · 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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