Mountain·Spain / France

Vignemale

3,299m

Massif de Vignemale

User Sea-empress on de.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Elevation: 3,299m
Prominence: 1,029m
Relief: 1,555mabove the lowest point within 5 km
Steepest slope: 58°within 1 km of the summit
Snow at the summit: All yearSee month by month ↓
First ascent: 1837
Summit: 42.7733°N, 0.1483°W

Summit of Vignemale massif, Pyrenees

Vignemale is a mountain in the Massif de Vignemale (Spain). Its summit stands 3,299 m above sea level. Its prominence — how far it rises above the highest saddle linking it to a taller summit — is 1,029 m. It was first climbed in 1837.

From the lowest point within 5 km (1,744 m), it rises 1,555 m. The steepest side is the north-east face: 40° on average over the first kilometre. In places the ground near the top reaches 58° — terrain for climbers, not walkers.

The nearest town is Cauterets, 13 km away at 850 m: 2,449 m below the summit.

Vignemale 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

9.1/10

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.

2.5/2.517 waymarked routes and 119 path sections nearby
1.5/1.514 huts and shelters
2.0/22,449 m of ascent from the valley
1.3/1.51,029 m of prominence
1.5/1.57 months with summit afternoons above −5 °C
0.3/1via ferratas, climbing and glaciers

Ski score

6.3/10

3.0/470 km of downhill runs
1.5/1.540 ski lifts
0.0/1.5lift station heights not mapped
1.8/33 months of snow at about 1,350 m

Runs by difficulty

Beginner 11 km
Easy 25 km
Intermediate 25 km
Difficult 8 km

Snow season on the slopes (estimate)

Around 1,350 m, in the middle of the ski area: snow from January to March (some years from December to March).

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

40 lifts · 16 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 Vignemale

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
Summit3,299 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 up2,074 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
Cauterets850 mno snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	No 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

Vignemale, 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 August afternoon the summit reaches about 9 °C; on February nights it falls to about -17 °C. In 6 months of the year it stays below freezing at the top even in the afternoon. In August the 0 °C line climbs to about 4,720 m, above the summit: the top thaws on an average afternoon. Across the region, August is the driest month (52 mm) and November the wettest (93 mm).

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

Month	Summit high °C	Summit low °C	Cauterets high °C	0 °C line (m)	Rain & snow (mm)	Wet days	Sun h/day
January	-9	-17	6	1,860	87	13	3.0
February	-9	-17	7	1,930	69	11	4.7
March	-5	-15	11	2,500	75	12	6.0
April	-2	-12	14	3,000	86	15	6.7
May	2	-9	17	3,530	93	14	7.1
June	6	-4	22	4,290	65	11	8.3
July	9	-3	25	4,690	52	10	8.6
August	9	-3	25	4,720	52	10	8.1
September	5	-6	21	4,130	56	10	7.4
October	1	-9	17	3,500	70	12	5.4
November	-6	-14	10	2,460	93	14	3.7
December	-8	-16	7	2,000	74	12	3.2

Estimate: the NASA POWER climate of a ~55 km cell (average height 981 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 Vignemale

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

N 5 km

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

14mountain huts and shelters
Cabaña de Cerbillonar, Cabane de Estom, Refuge d'Estom (1,804 m), Refuge Wallon - Marcadau (1,865 m) and 10 more
1cable cars, gondolas, chairlifts and rack railways
Gaube
5ski areas
Estación de Esquí Aramón Panticosa, Gavarnie Gèdre, Cauterets Pont d'Espagne, Gavarnie-Gèdre and 1 more
17waymarked hiking routes
Variante Bachimaña - Ibon de Brazatos, HRP Étape 13, Étape 14, HRP Étape 15 and 13 more
—via ferratas
—climbing crags and routes
11named glaciers
Glacier du Petit Vignemale, Glacier d'Ossoue, Glacier des Oulettes de Gaube, Névé de Gaube and 7 more
7viewpoints
Cascada, Mirador del Balneario, Cascada del Argualas, Mirador del Pino and 3 more
5campsites
Aire de bivouac du Refuge des Oulettes de Gaube, Aire de bivouac du Refuge de Bayssellance, Aire de bivouac, Aire de bivouac du Refuge Wallon and 1 more
6hotels, B&Bs and chalets
Hôtellerie Pont d'Espagne, Hôtellerie de la Fruitière, Balneario de Panticosa, Gran Hotel and 2 more
11restaurants and cafés

How hard are the paths?

119 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

Cauterets13 km · 850 m
Sallent de Gállego15 km · 1,289 m
Hoz de Jaca16 km · 1,267 m
Luz-Saint-Sauveur16 km · 719 m
Broto19 km · 895 m
Yésero19 km · 1,130 m
Biescas22 km · 860 m
Pierrefitte-Nestalas22 km · 481 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

Bayssellance Vignemale — Acer11 · CC BY-SA 3.0

Grand Vignemale au soleil levant — Philippe Manael · CC BY-SA 4.0

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	-9	-9	-5	-2	2	6	9	9	5	1	-6	-8
2020	+2.0	+5.2	+0.6	+1.5	+2.2	−2.6	−0.3	+0.5	−0.1	−3.5	+3.3	−1.0
2021	−2.4	+4.0	+0.4	−0.6	−1.0	−0.1	−1.1	+0.6	+1.0	+0.2	−2.8	+2.6
2022	+1.3	+3.2	+1.2	−0.5	+3.6	+4.0	+5.2	+4.1	+1.7	+4.1	+2.4	+2.8
2023	−1.3	+1.4	+2.8	+1.5	−0.1	+0.4	+2.1	+2.7	+4.5	+4.0	+1.8	+2.1
2024	+3.6	+3.7	+2.0	+0.9	−0.5	−0.4	+2.4	+2.7	−2.4	+0.9	+3.7	+1.3
2025	+2.1	+3.7	−0.1	+1.8	+1.2	+5.2	+1.3	+3.8	+1.2	+1.7	+0.9	+1.6

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

Nearby

More mountains nearby

3,328 mCilindro de Marboré

Spain17 km away

2,877 mPic du Midi de Bigorre

About these numbers

Names, elevation, prominence	Wikidata (Q1348903) · 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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