Nesthorn
3,820 m
Switzerland
Also known as Нестхорн, ნესტჰორნიAlso known as
Нестхорн · ნესტჰორნი
- Elevation
- 3,820 m
- Prominence
- 658 m
- Difficulty
- 5/10
- Easy alpine
- Best Season
- Jul–Aug
- Routes
- 2
AdvisoryReported 1 May 2025
After the Blatten landslide in the Lötschental (May 2025; exact day not taken from the cited source), the Oberaletschhütte reports that the crossing over the Beichpass down to the Lötschental is no longer possible and the bridge between Blatten and Wiler is closed. Plan approaches and exits via Belalp or the Baltschiedertal.
oberaletsch.ch
Routes
2Sources differ: PD (de.wikipedia (WS for the Baltschiederklause approach)) · PD+ (Camptocamp)
The usual way up the Nesthorn: a long walk up the remote Baltschiedertal to the Baltschiederklause (2,783 m), then a glacier and rock tour over the Baltschiederlicka (3,219 m) and the Gredetschjoch (3,508 m) to the 1865 west ridge, mixed rock steps and a steep firn slope to the fore-summit and a corniced crest to the top.
Elevation Profile
approximate line- Distance
- 16.0 km
- one way
- Ascent
- +3,175 m
- −617 m lost on the way up
- High Point
- 3,820 m
- Time Up
- 13h 49m
- DIN 33466
- Time Down
- 10h 25m
- DIN 33466 · same way back
Day one is the hut walk. From the hairpin car park at Choruderri (1,264 m) above Ausserberg, either follow the exposed Niwärch irrigation channel (bisse) or walk the 1.5 km water tunnel (headlamp) into the Baltschiedertal, then follow the long valley floor and the steep final slopes past Martischipfa and Hohbitzu to the Baltschiederklause (2,783 m). Camptocamp gives 5½ hours from Choruderri (T4), about 17 km. From the hut, descend the access path for about ten minutes and follow red triangle marks east across moraine and the debris-covered Baltschiedergletscher. The Baltschiederlicka (3,219 m) is reached by easy climbing just north of the gully, with iron rungs, cables and fixed ropes. Descend 50–100 m on the far side onto the Gredetschgletscher and climb it to the rock band below the Gredetschjoch (3,508 m); a rising ledge and a short gully with rungs and chains lead to the col. Rock here is loose and parties above can knock stones down. The west ridge starts as easy broken rock (I–II), then becomes snow and firn steepening to around 40–45° up to the fore-summit (about 3,720 m); a more or less corniced crest leads on to the main summit with its cross. Gipfelbuch.ch gives about 5 hours and 1,200 m of ascent from the hut. Descend the same way: an abseil of 15–30 m (anchors in place) is needed from the Gredetschjoch back to the glacier, so carry a rope long enough for a 20 m abseil or plan two shorter ones. A long alternative descent runs down the Gredetschtal towards Mund, but it does not return to the hut.
Start
Choruderri1,262 m
- Train to Ausserberg on the Lötschberg mountain line; it adds about an hour on foot to Choruderri (taxi possible, ask the hut)
- Parking at the trailhead
Stages
| Day | Stage | km | m ascent | m descent | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Choruderri → Baltschiederklause | 11.3 | 1,875 | 355 | 8h 22m |
| 2 | Baltschiederklause → Nesthorn | 4.7 | 1,299 | 262 | 5h 27m |
Waypoints
- Parking: Choruderri1,262 m
Road above Ausserberg requires a paid communal permit
- Hut: Baltschiederklause2,783 m
- Col: Baltschiederlicka3,219 m
- Col: Gredetschjoch3,510 m
- Summit: Nesthorn3,820 m
Key Passages
- Baltschiederlicka (iron rungs, cables and fixed ropes north of the gully)
- Gully to the Gredetschjoch (rungs and chains, loose rock)
- Firn slope of 40–45° to the west fore-summit
- Corniced crest from the fore-summit to the main summit
Equipment
0/10 packedDownloads
Route confidence 70%Overview
A remote 3,820 m snow and rock peak in the Bietschhorn–Aletschhorn group north of Brig, hidden from most valleys. The normal west ridge (PD+) is a serious glacier day from either of two isolated SAC huts.
The Nesthorn stands between the Oberaletsch and Beich glaciers to the north and east and the head of the Gredetschtal to the south, in the Valais part of the Bernese Alps and inside the Jungfrau-Aletsch UNESCO World Heritage area. Its north side drops in steep, icy walls to the Beichgletscher; to the west a rock ridge runs over the Gredetschjoch to the Breithorn (3,785 m). Because it is seen from so few places in the valleys, Swiss sources call it a hidden beauty.
The Bietschhorn–Nesthorn group is much quieter than the Bernese 4,000ers further north. Both huts that serve the mountain, the Baltschiederklause and the Oberaletschhütte, need a long approach of five hours or more, and neither route sees crowds. The normal route follows the 1865 west ridge from the Gredetschjoch: glacier travel, short scrambling with iron rungs and chains, a 40–45° firn slope and a corniced summit crest.
A popular plan is to cross the mountain from one hut to the other, climbing from the Baltschiederklause and descending to the Oberaletschhütte, or the reverse. Note that the Nesthorn is not the same as the Kleines Nesthorn, a spur of the nearby Bietschhorn.
Climbing Notes
This is a full alpine tour, not a hike: you need confident glacier travel and crevasse-rescue skills, cramponing on 40–45° firn, scrambling to II on loose rock, and the ability to abseil (15–30 m from the Gredetschjoch on descent). Fitness for a 10–11 hour total ascent spread over two days is essential; acclimatisation is helpful but rarely a problem at 3,800 m. Parties without this experience should hire a mountain guide.
Typical itinerary: day one, Ausserberg (Choruderri car park) to the Baltschiederklause in 5½–6½ hours; day two, summit in about 5 hours and back to the hut, or traverse to the Oberaletschhütte and out to Belalp on day three. From the Oberaletsch side allow about 5 hours to the hut from Belalp and about 7 hours from the hut to the summit through a crevassed and séracked glacier.
Start before dawn: the moraine and debris-covered glacier above the Baltschiederklause are hard to follow in the dark, so reconnoitre the start the evening before. Rockfall in the Gredetschjoch gully is the main objective hazard, especially with several parties. Ask the hut wardens about current glacier conditions, which change quickly as the ice retreats.
History
First ascended on 18 September 1865 by Hereford Brooke George and Alexander Mortimer with the guides Christian Almer and his son Ulrich, from Belalp via the Beich glacier and the ridge overlooking the Gredetschtal, i.e. roughly today's west ridge; they reached the top in six hours of climbing. The ascent was reported in the Alpine Journal the same year. The north face, a serious mixed climb, has lost much of its ice and now exposes good-quality Aare granite.
Season
Best Jul–Aug- January: Not advisable
- February: Not advisable
- March: Possible
- April: Possible
- May: Possible
- June: Possible
- July: Best (best window)
- August: Best (best window)
- September: Good
- October: Possible
- November: Not advisable
- December: Not advisable
- Jan
- Huts unstaffed; winter rooms only
- Feb
- Winter; avalanche risk on the long approaches
- Mar
- Ski-touring season at the Oberaletschhütte starts around mid-March
- Apr
- Ski ascent from the Oberaletschhütte for experienced ski-mountaineers
- May
- Late ski tours; Oberaletschhütte spring season ends late May
- Jun
- Huts reopen late June; much snow on the approaches and ridge
- Jul
- Main season; good snow cover on the glaciers
- Aug
- Main season; afternoon thunderstorms; firn may become icy
- Sep
- Fewer people; more open crevasses, bare ice and loose rock late in the season
- Oct
- Baltschiederklause closes by the first weekend of October at the latest
- Nov
- Winter conditions; huts closed
- Dec
- Winter conditions; huts closed
Access & Permits
- Hut Booking
- Both huts are booked online through the SAC hut reservation system (Baltschiederklause from 2025 via sac-bluemlisalp.ch; Oberaletschhütte via alpsonline.org, free cancellation until 12:00 the day before). Neither hut has mobile reception for the guests, so book in advance.
- Fees
- The road above Ausserberg to the Choruderri car park needs a paid communal permit (reported as CHF 5 per day, sold locally, e.g. at the station restaurant)
- Blatten–Belalp gondola fare (Half Fare and GA travelcards accepted)
- Hut overnight fees, with discounts for SAC and reciprocal alpine club members
- Rules
- Inside the Jungfrau-Aletsch UNESCO World Heritage area
- The Baltschiederklause warns of a new camping-ban law in the Baltschiedertal; check the hut's access page before planning to bivouac
- Getting There
Brig (Oberaletsch side); Visp and Ausserberg (Baltschiedertal side)
Geneva (GVA) or Zurich (ZRH); Bern (BRN) is closer but has few flights
- Baltschiedertal: train to Ausserberg on the Lötschberg mountain line, then on foot or by taxi to Choruderri (1,264 m); by car via Visp to Ausserberg and up the permit road
- Belalp: train to Brig, PostBus to Blatten bei Naters, gondola to Belalp; paid parking in Blatten
- Out of lift hours, start from Egga (1,647 m), adding about an hour
Hazards
- Glacier
- Crevasses
- Rockfall
- Cornices
- Exposure
- Weather
- Remoteness
Huts & Shelters
2- 2,640 m
OberaletschhütteHutStaffedBooking required
64 beds · Staffed for ski touring from about mid-March to late May and in summer from late June to mid-September; winter room open all year
- 2,783 m
BaltschiederklauseHutStaffedBooking required
55 beds · Staffed from late June until the first weekend of October at the latest; winter room with 10 places