Mountain·Austria

Watzespitze

3,532m

Kaunergrat

Cactus26 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Elevation: 3,532m
Prominence: 491m
Isolation: 12km
Relief: 2,024mabove the lowest point within 5 km
Steepest slope: 60°within 1 km of the summit
Snow at the summit: All yearSee month by month ↓
First ascent: 1869
Summit: 46.9867°N, 10.8106°E

Mountain

Watzespitze is a mountain in the Kaunergrat (Austria). Its summit stands 3,532 m above sea level. Its prominence — how far it rises above the highest saddle linking it to a taller summit — is 491 m, and the nearest higher ground is 12 km away. It was first climbed in 1869.

From the lowest point within 5 km (1,508 m), it rises 2,024 m. The steepest side is the east face: 12° on average over the first kilometre. In places the ground near the top reaches 60° — terrain for climbers, not walkers.

The nearest town is Fendels, 12 km away at 1,372 m: 2,160 m below the summit.

Watzespitze 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

9.6/10

Difficulty to the top

Mountain walk

Most path sections around the top are T3 on the SAC hiking scale. Glaciers around the top.

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

2.5/2.516 waymarked routes and 120 path sections nearby
1.5/1.58 huts and shelters
2.0/22,160 m of ascent from the valley
1.2/1.5491 m of prominence
1.5/1.57 months with summit afternoons above −5 °C
1.0/1via ferratas, climbing and glaciers

Ski score

8.2/10

3.8/4210 km of downhill runs
1.5/1.539 ski lifts
0.0/1.5lift station heights not mapped
3.0/37 months of snow at about 1,872 m

Runs by difficulty

Easy 94 km
Intermediate 90 km
Difficult 22 km
Freeride 2 km

Snow season on the slopes (estimate)

Around 1,872 m, in the middle of the ski area: snow from November to May.

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

39 lifts · 38 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 Watzespitze

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
Summit3,532 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 up2,452 msnow from October to June	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	No snow	No snow	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month
Fendels1,372 msnow from December to April (some years from November to April)	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	No snow	Snow some of the time	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

Watzespitze, 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 6 °C; on January nights it falls to about -24 °C. In 7 months of the year it stays below freezing at the top even in the afternoon. In July the 0 °C line climbs to about 4,500 m, above the summit: the top thaws on an average afternoon. Across the region, February is the driest month (50 mm) and August the wettest (167 mm).

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

Month	Summit high °C	Summit low °C	Fendels high °C	0 °C line (m)	Rain & snow (mm)	Wet days	Sun h/day
January	-15	-24	-1	1,270	64	12	3.3
February	-14	-24	0	1,380	50	11	4.6
March	-10	-19	4	1,950	67	15	5.5
April	-5	-14	9	2,820	75	16	6.0
May	0	-10	14	3,590	126	21	6.0
June	5	-6	19	4,250	152	21	7.0
July	6	-4	20	4,500	151	21	7.3
August	6	-4	20	4,440	167	20	6.8
September	2	-8	16	3,790	106	16	5.5
October	-2	-12	12	3,160	85	14	4.6
November	-9	-17	5	2,190	72	14	3.1
December	-13	-22	1	1,470	65	13	2.8

Estimate: the NASA POWER climate of a ~55 km cell (average height 2,008 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 3× 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 Watzespitze

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

A lift reaches 2,272 m — just 1,260 m below the summit.

8mountain huts and shelters
Nassereiner Alm (2,040 m), Rüsselsheimer Hütte (2,323 m), Verpeilhütte (2,025 m), Winterraum (2,817 m) and 4 more
8cable cars, gondolas, chairlifts and rack railways
Mittelbergbahn, Wildspitzbahn, Gletschersee, Gletscherexpress and 4 more
6ski areas
Sölden, Rifflsee, Fendels, Pitztaler Gletscher and 2 more
16waymarked hiking routes
Wanderweg 911 - Geigenkammhöhenweg, Wanderweg 927, Wanderweg 926, Wanderweg 925 and 12 more
9via ferratas
Kleinbärenzinne-Klettersteig, Murmeltiersteig, Erlebnissteig, upper part, Erlebnissteig, lower part and 5 more
41climbing crags and routes
Renkfälle, Zehn Sterne Eisfall, Verschneidung Eisfall, Der gelbe Fluss Eisfall and 37 more
37named glaciers
Geigenkarleferner, Rötkarlferner, Innerer Pirchlkarferner, Hauerferner and 33 more
7viewpoints
Gahwinden, Plangerosskopf, Bergwerksblick, Adlerblick and 3 more
2campsites
Camping Kaunertal, Alpin Camping Kaunertal
95hotels, B&Bs and chalets
Grupotel Alte Post, Haus Margreth, Sonnblick, Hotel Restaurant Berghof Steinbock and 91 more
32restaurants and cafés

How hard are the paths?

120 path sections within 5 km, by SAC hiking scale (T1 easy walk … T6 difficult alpine).

T1T2T3T4T5

T1 hiking
T2 mountain hiking
T3 demanding mountain hiking
T4 alpine hiking
T5 demanding alpine hiking

Towns at the foot

Fendels12 km · 1,372 m
Kauns13 km · 1,067 m
Ried im Oberinntal14 km · 888 m
Sölden14 km · 1,368 m
Prutz15 km · 865 m
Längenfeld15 km · 1,177 m
Ladis16 km · 1,193 m
Fiss17 km · 1,464 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

Kaunergrat - Watzespitze — Tiia Monto · CC BY 4.0

Mittelbergtal Rifflsee — Whgler · 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	-15	-14	-10	-5	0	5	6	6	2	-2	-9	-13
2020	+2.6	+2.7	+1.3	+3.2	+0.5	−1.5	+0.4	+1.1	+1.5	−2.5	+3.7	−0.1
2021	−1.8	+2.4	−1.3	−2.7	−2.9	+1.6	+0.1	−1.4	+2.4	−1.1	−0.8	+0.9
2022	+0.8	+1.3	+2.4	+0.4	+2.2	+2.9	+1.9	+1.4	−1.1	+3.4	+0.5	+1.1
2023	+0.6	+3.1	+2.9	−1.7	−0.1	+1.4	+1.1	+1.0	+4.8	+2.9	−2.3	+2.0
2024	+1.8	+3.4	+1.3	−0.9	−0.1	+0.1	+2.1	+3.3	−0.8	+1.3	+2.1	+1.5
2025	+1.7	+3.2	+3.3	+2.9	−0.3	+4.2	−1.4	+0.7	+1.2	−1.0	−0.1	+2.8

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

Nearby

More mountains nearby

3,768 mWildspitze

Austria12 km away

3,628 mHinterer Brochkogel

Austria12 km away

3,535 mHochvernagtspitze

About these numbers

Names, elevation, prominence	Wikidata (Q477177) · 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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