Aletschhorn

4,193 m

'Horn of the Aletsch' — named for the Great Aletsch Glacier (Aletsch-Gletscher), the largest glacier in the Alps, which descends from the foot of the peak. The Aletsch element is a pre-Romance toponym of disputed origin, possibly from Celtic *al-, 'high'.

Card

Coordinates46.4647° N · 8.0114° E

UIAA rank№ 35 / 82

CountriesSwitzerland

Normal gradePD · peu difficile

First ascent1859 · Francis Fox Tuckett with J.J. Bennen, Peter Bohren & Victor Tairraz

Typical seasonJuly to September

Photo of Aletschhorn — Photo: Carsten Steger · CC BY-SA 4.0

Second-highest peak of the Bernese Alps and the only one of the higher Bernese summits lying entirely in Valais. It rises above the Great Aletsch Glacier in the UNESCO Jungfrau-Aletsch World Heritage area.

History

Climbed on 18 June 1859 by Francis Fox Tuckett — the prolific English alpinist and member of the original Alpine Club committee — with his three guides. The Aletschhorn presides over the Great Aletsch Glacier, the largest glacier in the Alps and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2001.

Location

Summit · huts that serve as bases for routes on this peak

Major routes

NE ridge from Mittelaletschbiwak (Hasler rib)

AD-

Vertical / summit day2,400 m gain · 6h

The shortest summit-day line on the Aletschhorn. From Belalp the long approach climbs the Mittelaletsch glacier to the small unguarded Mittelaletschbiwak (3013 m); summit day climbs the Hasler rib (the NE ridge, mixed III) and the upper snow ridge to the summit. Long, committing route in a remote setting.

Sections

Belalp (2100 m)→Mittelaletschbiwak (3013 m)+913 m6h

Mittelaletschbiwak→Summit (4193 m)+1,180 m6h

Hasler rib from Konkordiahütte

AD-Topo ↗

Vertical / summit day1,700 m gain · 9h

Most-used summer line. From Konkordiahütte the route crosses the Großer Aletschfirn to the Lötschenlücke, traverses the Mittelaletschgletscher and climbs the Hasler rib to the summit — a very long single push of ~10 h, often done with an alpine start.

Huts on this route

Konkordiahütte2,850 m

Nearby huts

KonkordiahütteSAC · mid-March to mid-September2,850 m OberaletschhütteSAC · late June to late September2,640 m

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