Nadelhorn
4,327 m
Switzerland
Also known as Наделхорн, ნადელჰორნი, +1Also known as
Наделхорн · ნადელჰორნი · Надельхорн
- Elevation
- 4,327 m
- Prominence
- 207 m
- Difficulty
- 5/10
- Easy alpine
- Best Season
- Jul–Aug
- Routes
- 2
AdvisoryReported 1 Aug 2026
SAC route portal (August 2026): the previously used step from the ridge above the Schwarzhorn onto the Hohbalm glacier has become too steep; a different line is now taken. Check with the hut.
sac-cas.ch
Routes
2Sources differ: WS (SAC), rock 2a (SAC route portal)
The Saas-Fee normal route: a steep, cable-protected hut path to the Mischabelhütte (3,340 m), then the Hohbalm glacier to the Windjoch and a kilometre-long snow ridge finishing on loose rock (II) at a small, exposed summit. About 1,000 m and 4½–5 hours from the hut.
Elevation Profile
approximate line- Distance
- 7.4 km
- one way
- Ascent
- +2,090 m
- −101 m lost on the way up
- High Point
- 4,327 m
- Time Up
- 8h 05m
- DIN 33466
- Time Down
- 5h 26m
- DIN 33466 · same way back
Day one: from Saas-Fee take the Hannig gondola (2,340 m) and follow the Mischabelweg traverse to the foot of the rock ridge below the hut. The upper part is a steep, exposed path protected with cables and a ladder that leads to the Mischabelhütte (3,340 m); about 3 hours from Hannig or 4 hours from Saas-Fee. It is not a walk for anyone unsure on exposed ground, and is unpleasant in a thunderstorm. Day two: from the hut a path climbs the rocky ridge towards the Schwarzhorn (3,620 m) and drops onto the Hohbalm glacier at about 3,600 m (1 hour). Rope up: on the Hohbalm glacier the crevasses run along the direction of travel, and near the Windjoch they lie across it, sometimes hidden by drifts. Contour round at about 3,620 m to the foot of the Windjoch and climb the flank below the Ulrichshorn (often icy in midsummer, around 40–45°) to the col at 3,847 m (1½ hours). Turn south-west up the NE ridge over P. 4114: firn and snow at first, with cornices, then rock. Lower rock steps can be bypassed on the right, but in icy conditions stay on the rock. The final 100 m is loose, exposed scrambling (UIAA II) to a tiny summit, 2 hours from the col. Descend the same way. The Ulrichshorn (3,925 m) can be added from the Windjoch with little extra effort. In August 2026 the SAC noted that the usual step from the Schwarzhorn ridge onto the Hohbalm glacier had become too steep and a different line is now taken; ask the hut for the current way.
Start
Hannig2,338 m
- Saas-Fee – Hannig gondola (summer 2026: 4 June – 25 October, 09:00–16:30)
- Train to Visp, then PostBus 511 to Saas-Fee (every 30 minutes); Hannig gondola from the village.
Stages
| Day | Stage | km | m ascent | m descent | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hannig → Mischabelhütte | 4.2 | 1,047 | 55 | 4h 07m |
| 2 | Mischabelhütte → Nadelhorn | 3.2 | 1,041 | 46 | 3h 58m |
Waypoints
- Lift: Hannig2,338 m
Top station of the Saas-Fee – Hannig gondola
- Hut: Mischabelhütte3,336 m
- Feature: Schwarzhorn3,619 m
Route follows its ridge before stepping onto the Hohbalm glacier
- Col: Windjoch3,848 m
- Summit: Nadelhorn4,327 m
Key Passages
- Cable- and ladder-protected ridge path to the Mischabelhütte
- Step from the Schwarzhorn ridge onto the Hohbalm glacier
- Crevasses on the Hohbalm glacier and below the Windjoch
- Slope below the Ulrichshorn to the Windjoch (often icy)
- Corniced snow section of the NE ridge
- Loose rocky summit block (II)
Equipment
0/12 packedDownloads
Route confidence 90%Overview
The 4,327 m high point of the Nadelgrat, the ridge running north from the Dom above Saas-Fee. Its normal route from the Mischabelhütte is a PD glacier climb and long snow ridge with a short, loose rock finish, often cited as one of the easier 4,000 m peaks in the Mischabel group.
The Nadelhorn stands on the main Mischabel chain between the Saastal and the Mattertal, the highest of the Nadelgrat summits (Dürrenhorn, Hohberghorn, Stecknadelhorn, Nadelhorn) and joined to the Lenzspitze and the Dom to the south. Three ridges meet at a sharp, tiny summit; the name is usually explained by its needle shape seen from the north, while the Mischabelhütte relates it to the 'Nadelloch', an oval hole in the rock about 10 m north-west of the top.
The normal route from Saas-Fee is a two-day trip: a steep, cable-protected hut path to the Mischabelhütte at 3,340 m — itself a serious undertaking — then a glacier crossing to the Windjoch and over a kilometre of snow and rock ridge to the summit. The difficulties are modest (PD, rock II), but the glacier has crevasses running both along and across the line, the slope to the Windjoch is often icy in midsummer, and the summit block is loose and crowded on fine weekends.
Stronger parties use the Nadelhorn as the finish of the Nadelgrat traverse from the Bordierhütte, or combine it with the Lenzspitze, whose ridge links to the Nadelhorn over the Lenzjoch.
Climbing Notes
You should be comfortable on exposed scrambling with a pack (the hut path) and on 40–45° snow or ice with crampons, and be able to move together and belay on easy loose rock. Glacier rescue skills are needed for the Hohbalm glacier. Acclimatise first: the Saas-Fee area offers good warm-up peaks such as the Allalinhorn or Weissmies, or a night at the Mischabelhütte itself.
A typical itinerary: Hannig gondola and 3 hours to the hut on day one; leave around 04:00 the next morning, summit after 4½–5 hours, back down to the hut and on to Saas-Fee the same day. The Ulrichshorn can be added from the Windjoch. Book the hut early on summer weekends, and ask the hut team about the current line from the Schwarzhorn ridge onto the glacier, which changed in 2026. Many climbers go with a Saas-Fee guide.
History
The first ascent was made on 16 September 1858 by Franz Andenmatten, Baptiste Epiney, Aloys Supersaxo and Joseph Zimmermann by the NE ridge; the party had been sent up to set up a trigonometric signal. The SW flank and NW ridge were first climbed in 1882 by Alexander Burgener's party with Charles Passavant and John Ellerman, and the SE ridge in 1886 by Harold Ward Topham with Xaver Imseng and Aloys Supersaxo. The first Mischabelhütte was opened by the Akademischer Alpenclub Zürich in 1903.
Season
Best Jul–Aug- January: Not advisable
- February: Not advisable
- March: Not advisable
- April: Possible
- May: Possible
- June: Good
- July: Best (best window)
- August: Best (best window)
- September: Good
- October: Possible
- November: Not advisable
- December: Not advisable
- Jan
- Winter; hut unstaffed (12-place emergency room)
- Feb
- Winter conditions
- Mar
- Winter conditions
- Apr
- Ski-mountaineering for experienced parties; hut unstaffed
- May
- Late ski season; Hannig gondola from mid-May
- Jun
- Hut staffed from early June (5 June in 2026); more snow on the ridge
- Jul
- Main season
- Aug
- Main season; slope to the Windjoch often icy
- Sep
- Hut closes mid-September (13 September in 2026)
- Oct
- Hut unstaffed; early snow; Hannig gondola until late October
- Nov
- Winter conditions
- Dec
- Winter conditions
Access & Permits
- Hut Booking
- Mischabelhütte: online booking via mischabelhuette.ch until 18:00 the day before; later by phone +41 27 957 13 17 or mischabelhuette@gmx.ch. Late cancellations are charged to the card given at booking.
- Fees
- Mischabelhütte (2026): CHF 86 half board for SAC members, CHF 98 for non-members, including visitor's tax
- Saas-Fee – Hannig gondola ticket (free with the SaastalCard or Magic Pass in summer)
- Rules
- Saas-Fee is car-free: park at the multi-storey car park at the village entrance
- The Mischabelhütte path is exposed and protected with cables and a ladder; not suitable for dogs
- Getting There
Saas-Fee
Geneva (GVA), Zurich (ZRH) or Milan Malpensa (MXP)
- Train to Visp, then PostBus 511 to Saas-Fee (every 30 minutes)
- Car: via Visp and Saas-Grund to the Saas-Fee car park at the village entrance
- Saas-Fee – Hannig gondola, then about 3 hours on foot to the Mischabelhütte
Hazards
- Glacier
- Crevasses
- Rockfall
- Exposure
- Cornices
- Altitude
- Weather
Huts & Shelters
2- 2,886 m
BordierhütteHutStaffed
44 beds · Summer; 10-place unheated bivouac room outside the staffed period
- 3,340 m
MischabelhütteHutStaffedBooking required
100 beds · Staffed mid-June to mid-September (5 June – 13 September in 2026); 12-place emergency shelter year-round