Four-thousanders in the European Alps

For many years there has been a special category of mountains in the Alps whose ascent has an extra charge: that of the “four-thousanders”. These are the mountains in the Alps that rise above the magical 4000 meter altitude and are spread over three countries: France, Italy and Switzerland. As beautiful as the Austrian Alps are, “four-thousanders” cannot be found in Austria, or Slovenia for that matter.

Where can I find “four-thousanders”?

Most four-thousand-plus-meter peaks can be in Switzerland, followed by France and than Italy. Most of these mountains are actually part of the natural borders between the countries. Examples are the Mont Blanc (Italy & France), Matterhorn (Switzerland and Italy, where it’s called Monte Cervino), Dufourspitze (Switzerland & Italy), Grand Combin (Switzerland and Italy) and Grand Jorasses (Italy and France).

Some others are quite isolated: the Barre des Ecrins (France), Gran Paradiso (Italy) and Piz Bernina (Switzerland) are the only mountains in their mountain range that are “four-thousanders”.

NameElevation (meters)Country
Mont Blanc4807France
Mont Blanc de Courmayeur4765Italy
Dufourspitze4634Switzerland
Nordend4609Switzerland/Italy
Zumsteinspitze4563Switzerland/Italy
Signalkuppe/Punta Gnifetti4559Switzerland/Italy
Dom de Mischabel4545Switzerland
Lyskamm4527Switzerland/Italy
Weisshorn4506Switzerland
Täschhorn4491Switzerland
Matterhorn4478Switzerland/Italy
Mont Maudit4465France/Italy
Parrotspitze4432
Switzerland/Italy
Dent Blanche4356Switzerland
Ludwigshöhe4341Switzerland/Italy
Nadelhorn4327Switzerland
Corno Nero4321Italy
Grand Combin4314Switzerland
Dome du Gouter4304France/Italy
Lenzspitze4294Switzerland
Finsteraarhorn4274Switzerland
Mont Blanc du Tacul4248France
Stecknadelhorn4241Switzerland
Castor4226Switzerland/Italy
Zinalrothorn4221Switzerland
Hohberghorn4219Switzerland
Piramide Vincent4215Italy
Grandes Jorasses4208France
Alphubel4206Switzerland
Rimpfischhorn4199Switzerland
Aletschhorn4193Switzerland
Strahlhorn4190Switzerland
Dent d'Herens4171Switzerland
Breithorn4164Switzerland
Jungfrau4158Switzerland
Bishorn4153Switzerland
Aiguille Verte4122France
Aiguilles du Diable4114France
Aiguille Blanche de Peuterey4112France
Mönch4107Switzerland
Barre des Ecrins4102France
Pollux4092Switzerland/Italy
Schreckhorn4078Switzerland
Obergabelhorn4063Switzerland
Gran Paradiso4062Italy
Aiguille de Bionnassay4052France/Italy
Fiescherhorn4049Switzerland
Piz Bernina4048Switzerland
Punta Giordani4046Italy
Gross Gruenhorn4044Switzerland
Lauteraarhorn4042Switzerland
Dirruhorn4035Switzerland
Allalinhorn4027Switzerland
Weissmies4025Switzerland
Dôme de Neige des Ecrins4015France
Dent du Géant4013France
Lagginhorn4010Switzerland
Aiguille de Rochefort4001France
Les Droites4000France

Difficulty Level

The height does not say everything about the difficulty of climbing these mountains – neither does the absolute altitude. For example, climbing the Matterhorn is more difficult than reaching the top of Mont Blanc, while the Eiger and Grivola are also known for the difficult routes to the top (even though slightly below 4000 meters).

Some four-thousanders are quite remote. For example, the Schreckhorn, Lauteraarhorn and Finsteraarhorn have a significant approach route. Others can be reached almost directly from a cable car or make the first part of the climb considerably easier. The Jungfrau, Weissmies and Allalinhorn are all fairly easy to reach thanks to cable cars or trains that reach an altitude of more than 3200 meters.

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