Schreckhorn

4,078 m

Switzerland

Also known as შრეკჰორნი, Шрекхорн

შრეკჰორნი · Шрекхорн

Elevation: 4,078 m
Prominence: 795 m
Difficulty: 6/10; Alpine climb
Best Season: Jul–Aug
Routes: 2

Hut closedReported 23 Sep 2026
The hut path to the Schreckhornhütte closed for the season on 23 September 2026 and the chains on the approach have been removed. The winter room (16 places) is open; booking via the portal is required.
schreckhornhuette.ch
AdvisoryReported 11 Sep 2026
Several rockfalls from the Lauteraarhorn above the descent: the hut advises against using the Strahleggpass and the Schraubengang (Lauteraarhorn) for now. Routes on the Schreckhorn were reported unaffected.
schreckhornhuette.ch
AdvisoryReported 5 Sep 2026
The glacier approach to the Schreckhorn is becoming harder in late summer; crevasses were still easy to pass, but a bare-ice passage makes 2–3 ice screws (or a cutting axe) advisable.
schreckhornhuette.ch

Routes

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Approximate line — not for navigation

An automated check found that parts of this line could not be matched to mapped trails, so it may stray far from the real route. Use it for planning only, with a map and a guidebook.

Why? 7 check notes

danger scan: Schreckhornhütte → Schreckhorn: straight line 1733 m (limit 200 m)
danger scan: Schreckhornhütte → Schreckhorn: straight line 1733 m above the last hut/bivouac
danger scan: Schreckhornhütte → Schreckhorn: straight line: 80° over 25 m (> 60°, high-res DEM)
danger scan: Schreckhornhütte → Schreckhorn: sustained 72° > 45° on a straight line
last routed vertex 1736 m from the summit (closed by straight)
Schreckhornhütte → Schreckhorn: straight (snap_failed; DEM rejected: no path below 45° between the endpoints, 1.7 km)
unresolved waypoints: Obers Ischmeer, Gaag, Schreckfirn

AlpineAD+UIAAIV-Rock ridgeNormal route

Sources differ: AD+ (SAC / Schreckhornhütte (ZS+, 4a)) · 3c (Camptocamp rock grade) (Camptocamp)

The easiest way up the hardest 4,000er in the Bernese Alps: a demanding T4 hut path from Pfingstegg to the Schreckhornhütte (2,530 m), then a long glacier and moraine approach to the Schreckfirn, a bergschrund and stonefall-prone couloir or ramp, and about 250 m of exposed, mostly solid gneiss ridge (III, short IV-) to the summit. 6–7 hours up from the hut and 5–6 down.

Elevation Profile

approximate line

Distance: ≈ 9.4 km; one way
Ascent: ≈ +2,884 m; −194 m lost on the way up
High Point: 4,078 m
Time Up: ≈ 11h 11m; DIN 33466
Time Down: ≈ 7h 35m; DIN 33466 · same way back

Day one: from the Pfingstegg top station (1,391 m) above Grindelwald a path leads to Berghaus Bäregg (about 1,772 m), then a blue-and-white alpine route (T4) continues past Bänisegg, across the Rots Gufer stream and over rocky steps with chains and fixed ropes to the Schreckhornhütte (about 2,530 m), 4–5 hours and 1,380 m from Pfingstegg. Streams can swell dangerously in heavy rain. The chains and ladders are removed at the end of each season and the path is then officially closed. Day two: descend from the hut onto the Obers Ischmeer glacier and follow its right bank for about 1 km to a cairned spur. Climb moraine and rock (fixed rope) to the old path towards the destroyed Strahlegg hut, then branch left (north-north-east) up a faint path to the rock hump of Gaag (about 3,200 m). Reconnoitre this the evening before: the start is hard to find in the dark, and the hut has a photo-topo. From Gaag go onto the Schreckfirn, keeping to its left side to avoid crevasses, and arc left to the foot of the obvious ramp below the SW ridge (about 3,400–3,500 m), 3–4 hours from the hut. The traditional crossing of the bergschrund and the couloir below the ramp is increasingly exposed to stonefall; since July 2017 an equipped alternative start (a few moves of II–III) climbs the rocks on the right bank of the couloir. Climb the ramp's left-hand rib, or the gully in its centre when it holds good frozen snow, to a shoulder at about 3,850 m where the SW ridge proper begins. Keep mostly to the airy crest on good rock (III, a few short passages of IV-, notably the last pitch below the fore-summit), with occasional detours to the west side. From the fore-summit an easier, partly snowy ridge leads to the summit (4,078 m), about 3 hours from the bergschrund. Descend the same way. The ridge has abseil rings about every 20–25 m (around 10–15 abseils, a single 50 m rope is enough), and the couloir can be avoided by abseil anchors on its right-hand rocks. Allow 5–6 hours back to the hut; going all the way down to Grindelwald the same day makes a very long day.

Start

Pfingstegg1,387 m

Grindelwald–Pfingstegg cable car
Train to Grindelwald (via Interlaken Ost), then bus to the Pfingsteggbahn stop and the Pfingstegg cable car.

Stages

Day	Stage	km	m ascent	m descent	Time
1	Pfingstegg → Schreckhornhütte	7.7	1,336	194	5h 48m
2	Schreckhornhütte → Schreckhorn	1.7	1,548	0	5h 23m

Waypoints

Lift:
Pfingstegg1,387 m
Top station of the Grindelwald–Pfingstegg cable car
Hut:
Berghaus Bäregg1,771 m
Hut:
Schreckhornhütte2,529 m
Summit:
Schreckhorn4,078 m

Key Passages

Hut path from Bäregg: chains, fixed ropes and the Rots Gufer stream crossing (T4)
Finding the way from the Obers Ischmeer to Gaag in the dark
Schreckfirn crevasses and bare-ice section
Bergschrund and stonefall-exposed couloir below the ramp (or the equipped 2017 start)
Exposed SW ridge (III, short IV-) to the fore-summit
About 10–15 abseils on descent

Equipment

0/12 packed

Downloads

Route confidence 77%

Overview

The Schreckhorn (4,078 m) above Grindelwald is the northernmost 4,000 m peak in the Alps and the hardest of the Bernese Oberland 4,000ers by its normal route. Expect a demanding T4 hut path, a long glacier approach and an exposed rock ridge (AD+, up to IV-).

The Schreckhorn ('terror peak') is the highest point of a 10 km ridge running from the Mettenberg above Grindelwald south-east to the Lauteraarhorn, with which it forms a striking double summit. It rises between the Obers Ischmeer and the Lauteraar and Gauli glaciers, on the edge of the Jungfrau-Aletsch UNESCO World Heritage area, and with about 800 m of prominence it is a mountain in its own right. It is often called the northernmost 4,000 m summit in Europe and the most demanding 4,000er of the Bernese Alps.

There is no easy side. The normal route, the south-west ridge from the Schreckhornhütte, begins with a long hut approach and a hard-to-find route across moraine and glacier, then a bergschrund and stonefall-prone couloir or ramp, and finishes with about 250 m of exposed but mostly solid gneiss ridge at grade III with short IV- steps. The descent is by about a dozen abseils. Most parties need 11–13 hours from the hut and back, and the mountain is never crowded.

Glacier retreat has made the approach harder: the hut path has more chains and fixed ropes each year, the Schreckfirn has bare-ice sections by late summer, and since 2017 a bolted variant avoids the stonefall-exposed start of the ramp. The ridge dries out quickly after bad weather, which is one reason the mountain is climbed throughout a long summer season.

Climbing Notes

This is a serious outing for experienced alpinists: you need to move confidently on exposed III–IV- rock in boots, abseil efficiently, and handle crevassed glacier and a bergschrund, all within a 12-hour or longer day. A guide is recommended for anyone without that background; Grindelwald guides climb it regularly, often combined with the Lauteraarhorn traverse.

Acclimatise beforehand with a night or two above 3,000 m and an easier 4,000 m peak. Typical itinerary: Pfingstegg cable car from Grindelwald, 4–5 hours up the hut path to the Schreckhornhütte, check the start of the route in daylight, breakfast at 02:00, summit in 6–7 hours, back at the hut in another 5–6 hours, and a second night at the hut or a long descent to Grindelwald. Book the hut early; it is small. Ask the hut team about the glacier (bare ice in late summer, take 2–3 ice screws) and stonefall before you go.

History

Leslie Stephen, later the first editor of the Dictionary of National Biography, made the first ascent on 16 August 1861 with the guides Christian Michel, Peter Michel and Ulrich Kaufmann, by the upper Schreck couloir, the Schrecksattel and the south-east ridge. The north-west (Anderson) ridge was first climbed on 7 August 1883 by John Stafford Anderson and George Percival Baker with Ulrich Almer and Aloys Pollinger. The south-west ridge, today's normal route, was first climbed by J. H. Wicks, E. H. F. Bradby and Claude Wilson without guides on 26 July 1902 (Camptocamp, Wikipedia; SummitPost gives 1907). The first winter ascent of the NW ridge was on 18 January 1902.

Season

Best Jul–Aug

January: Not advisable
February: Not advisable
March: Not advisable
April: Not advisable
May: Not advisable
June: Possible
July: Best (best window)
August: Best (best window)
September: Good
October: Not advisable
November: Not advisable
December: Not advisable

Jan: Winter; hut path officially closed, chains removed
Feb: Winter conditions
Mar: Winter conditions; ski-touring in the hut area only in very safe conditions
Apr: Winter conditions
May: Hut unstaffed; ridge snowy
Jun: Hut staffed from mid/late June; ridge may still be snowy
Jul: Main season; ridge dries quickly after bad weather
Aug: Main season; bare ice on the Schreckfirn approach
Sep: Quieter; hut staffed to about 20–27 September, then the hut path is closed
Oct: Hut path closed and unsecured; winter room only
Nov: Winter conditions
Dec: Winter conditions

Access & Permits

Hut Booking

Schreckhornhütte SAC (Basel section): via the booking portal linked from schreckhornhuette.ch; +41 33 855 10 25, info@schreckhornhuette.ch.

Fees

Grindelwald–Pfingstegg cable car ticket
Schreckhornhütte overnight fee; hut sleeping-bag liner compulsory (CHF 7 to hire)

Rules

Schreckhornhütte: booking required, also for the winter room
The hut path from Bäregg is officially closed outside the staffed season; chains and ladders are removed
Own food may not be cooked in the hut while it is staffed

Getting There

Grindelwald

Bern (BRN); Zurich (ZRH) or Basel (BSL) for international flights

Train to Interlaken Ost and on to Grindelwald (about 35 minutes)
Bus from Grindelwald station to the Pfingsteggbahn stop (about 5 minutes), or 15 minutes' walk; cable car to Pfingstegg (1,391 m)
By car: park in Grindelwald (Grindelwald Terminal Park+Ride with free bus line 120 in summer)

Hazards

Rockfall
Glacier
Crevasses
Exposure
Altitude
Weather
River crossing

Huts & Shelters

Berghaus BäreggHotel
Summer
1,772 m
SchreckhornhütteHutStaffedBooking required
Staffed from mid/late June to late September depending on conditions (2026: until 21 September); winter room with 16 places
Website of Schreckhornhütte
2,530 m