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Allalin Glacier - Rimpfischhorn

Mountain·SwitzerlandSwitzerland

Rimpfischhorn

4,199m

Pennine Alps

Summit weather

Tiia Monto · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Elevation
4,199m
Prominence
647m
Isolation
4.7km
Relief
1,880mabove the lowest point within 5 km
Steepest slope
66°within 1 km of the summit
Snow at the summit
All yearSee month by month ↓
Summit
46.0233°N, 7.8836°E

Mountain in the Pennine Alps

Rimpfischhorn is a mountain in the Pennine Alps (Switzerland). Its summit stands 4,199 m above sea level. Its prominence — how far it rises above the highest saddle linking it to a taller summit — is 647 m, and the nearest higher ground is 4.7 km away.

From the lowest point within 5 km (2,319 m), it rises 1,880 m. The steepest side is the north-east face: 36° on average over the first kilometre. In places the ground near the top reaches 66° — terrain for climbers, not walkers.

The nearest town is Staffa, 9 km away at 1,327 m: 2,872 m below the summit.

Read more on Wikipedia

Scores

Rimpfischhorn 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

9.5/10

Difficulty to the top

Alpine climb

Most path sections around the top are T4 on the SAC hiking scale. Glaciers around the top.

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

  • 2.5/2.544 waymarked routes and 75 path sections nearby
  • 1.5/1.516 huts and shelters
  • 2.0/22,872 m of ascent from the valley
  • 1.2/1.5647 m of prominence
  • 1.2/1.55 months with summit afternoons above −5 °C
  • 1.0/1via ferratas, climbing and glaciers

Ski score

9.6/10

  • 3.6/4179 km of downhill runs
  • 1.5/1.570 ski lifts
  • 1.5/1.51,600 m between the lowest and highest lift station
  • 3.0/39 months of snow at about 2,483 m

Runs by difficulty

  • Beginner 2 km
  • Easy 50 km
  • Intermediate 95 km
  • Difficult 12 km
  • Freeride 19 km

Snow season on the slopes (estimate)

Around 2,483 m, in the middle of the ski area: snow from October to June.

  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

70 lifts · lift stations from 1,683 to 3,283 m · 20 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 Rimpfischhorn

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

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Summit4,199 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 up2,763 msnow from October to July
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 monthNo snowNo snowSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all month
Staffa1,327 msnow from December to April (some years from November to April)
Snow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowSnow some of the timeSnow 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

Rimpfischhorn, 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 2 °C; on January nights it falls to about -28 °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 m1,000 m2,000 m3,000 m4,000 m5,000 mSUMMIT · 4,199 mSTAFFA · 1,327 mJanuary: 1,290 mFebruary: 1,430 mMarch: 1,940 mApril: 2,680 mMay: 3,430 mJune: 4,190 mJuly: 4,510 mAugust: 4,420 mSeptember: 3,820 mOctober: 3,060 mNovember: 2,120 mDecember: 1,450 mJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
0 °C on an average afternoon 0 °C at dawn the summit
MonthSummit high °CSummit low °CStaffa high °C0 °C line (m)Rain & snow (mm)Wet daysSun h/day
January-19-2801,29055114.2
February-18-2711,43056105.5
March-15-2341,94072126.4
April-10-1892,680101155.9
May-5-14143,430143195.7
June0-9194,190124187.4
July2-7214,510113177.9
August1-8204,420125167.1
September-2-12163,82090146.1
October-7-15113,060101144.7
November-14-2052,120131143.4
December-18-2611,45071123.5

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
4,199 m2,178 m0 km2 km4 km6 km8 km10 km12 km14 km16 kmWE
South – north
4,199 m2,853 m0 km2 km4 km6 km8 km10 km12 km14 km16 kmSN
Steepness by direction
30°N: 23°NNE: 36°NEE: 31°ESE: 16°SES: 33°SSW: 33°SWW: 34°WNW: 31°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 Rimpfischhorn

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

Rimpfischhorn 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.

A lift reaches Hohtälli at 3,283 m — just 916 m below the summit.

  • 16mountain huts and shelters

    Britanniahütte (3,030 m), Mischabeljochbiwak SAC (3,847 m), Täschhütte (2,701 m), Kinhütte (2,584 m) and 12 more

  • 28cable cars, gondolas, chairlifts and rack railways

    Patrullarve, Hublot-Express (Gant - Blauherd), Blauherd - Rothorn, Gant - Hohtälli and 24 more

  • 10ski areas

    Saas Fee, Zermatt - Breuil-Cervinia, Macugnaga - Moro, Macugnaga - Belvedere and 6 more

  • 44waymarked hiking routes

    Swiss Tour Monte Rosa, B00 - Stra Granda tappa 2, B99 - Chiesa Vecchia, bivio B00 - Passo di Monte Moro, Vie Storiche Monte Moro Saas Almagell and 40 more

  • 2via ferratas

    Via Ferrata Britannia

  • 4climbing crags and routes

    Gildo Burgener, Luciano Bettineschi

  • 32named glaciers

    Adlergletscher, Schwarzberggletscher, Seewjinengletscher, Habelgletscher and 28 more

  • 39viewpoints

    Gornergrat, Foto-Spot Rothorn and 37 more

  • 3campsites

    Area Sosta Camper Macugnaga, Natural Camping, Attermenzen

  • 116hotels, B&Bs and chalets

    Igludorf, Täscher Hof, Hotel Gletschergarten, Pirmin Zurbriggen and 112 more

  • 91restaurants and cafés

How hard are the paths?

75 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

  • Staffa9 km · 1,327 m
  • Macugnaga9 km · 1,315 m
  • Saas-Fee10 km · 1,800 m
  • Zermatt10 km · 1,608 m
  • Saas-Grund12 km · 1,564 m
  • Ceppo Morelli15 km · 753 m
  • Vanzone18 km · 677 m
  • Sankt Niklaus18 km · 1,115 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

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-19-18-15-10-5021-2-7-14-18
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

About these numbers

Names, elevation, prominenceWikidata (Q30455) · 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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