Bishorn is 4135 m high mountain in the area of Zinal village, in Wallis province in Switzerland. It is a bit remote and if you want to climb it from Zinal side, you will need two days.
[Handel: Suite no. 4, Sarabande]
There are two main possibilities from Zinal valley, roughly marked on the map below (source – Federal Topographical Office):
In both cases, your destination is the Tracuit hut (Cabane Tracuit, 3256 m). The first route starts south of the village, at the end of the valley. The road ends up there and people leave their cars although this is not an official parking.
From this point, you may continue along the valley in the south direction for a while, following the river for about 15 minutes, and then you will see signs sharp left up through the forest. In this part, the path first zigzags through pleasant woods, and when you gain altitude you will have views over the Zinal valley.
Somewhere around 2000 m you will be at a plateau and you will see Lac d’Arpitetta in the distance; this is the place where you should turn left, toward Roc de la Vache (2581 m). The route goes up and leads you to the col from where you will see the long remaining part of the route toward Cab. Tracuit.
The hut itself should be visible. From the col the path descends a few tens of meters, and after some time your route will join the another alternative route from Zinal, which you will see on the left.
The remaining part after that is partly over some meadows but very soon it becomes harder because of the altitude and the rocky terrain. In total, it will take you about 5 hours from Zinal to the hut.
The second route looks more direct, see the map above. It starts close to the camp at the end of the village. This was my descending route. I found it rather unpleasant, it was a hot day and no shade whatsoever. But perhaps I was just tired. As mentioned above, it joins the first route below the col, at around 2470 m.
About necessary equipment
| Recommended | Essential |
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Note, the type of boots depends on the type of crampons, read more in my separate text.
My climb to Bishorn
I climbed Bishorn in July 2007 following the first route described above. I did not make a reservation at the hut. At the upper part of the route, I saw a few big groups moving up and became worried about my prospects to find a place for the night.
At the hut, the guardian told me it was fully booked. I asked to sleep on the bank in the dining room (for the same price as in the mattress room); he agreed but said he would not have any blanket to give me. With blanket or not, I decided to stay.
So those were several long hours of waiting. The place was full of cheerful people, many different groups enjoying the moments with beer and food. I felt rather miserable, had to wait for all of them to go to sleep, and then somehow to spend the night on the bench.
It was freezing outside. There was one tent or two raised near the hut on the rock, obviously with permission of the guardian. In spite of my bad prospects for the night, I still felt it was better inside on the bank even without any blanket.
Eventually, the groups started going to sleep. At one moment the guardian approached me saying that apparently somebody who made a reservation did not appear, and that I had a place in the mattress room. So you can imagine how much my situation suddenly improved. There were about 30 people in the room, did not smell good in there, many were snoring, but it was warm and bearable.
In the morning the guardian came early and mercilessly turned the lights on, we were supposed to get up. Did not have much of a sleep, but that did not matter. When I came the day before, some water was running outside in front of the toilet, so I went out to wash my face only to realize that it was completely frozen.
Without breakfast, I set off for the summit at 5 am, and I was at the summit at 8. There was one party of three in front of me. There were no visible crevasses, and the snow on the glacier was rock-hard. The climb was smooth, except for the fact that I dropped my camera, this episode I described elsewhere at this site. So I do not have any photo from the summit itself.
The final slope is pleasant. I used crampons all the way to the summit. The walk over the glacier was smooth and without any problem. A few meters just below the summit are a bit steep, but it was all in ice and with crampons it was fine. A few parties arrived soon, and there was already a crowd on the summit, and much more were coming. The night before, about 120 people were sleeping in the hut and most of them were heading up. The atmosphere was great, some of the people immediately started sunbathing at such an altitude, it was such a pleasant morning.
I did not stay long on the top, I was thinking about my camera which I dropped earlier and saw it sliding down the glacier. Eventually, later I found it and continued back toward the hut. At one point my leg sunk into an opening in the ice. I realized the snow was softening already, and this was a clear warning to take care where to step. But it was all right in the end, as you see I am writing these lines after all.
Tu summarize my report, climbing Bishorn is a great experience. There are no gondolas and lifts around to spoil the views. You will have to walk almost 2500 meters up to such a high altitude. But this is what a mountain should be, you will be in nature and you will enjoy it. From the text above you have already realized what kind of equipment you will need.
This is a glacier tour so do not go without separate page within this site.
If you are in the area and want to play it safe and hire a guide, please follow this link, they will find you somebody from the local area who will take you safely to any of the summits around.
A couple of YouTube videos about Bishorn:
Philip says
Hi Jovo. Many thanks for your website and your story of climbing the Bishorn. Really useful information. Please can I ask how cold it gets towards the top? I’d assume that even with the low temperatures I’d still be quite warm in a light ski jacket due to the exercise?
Jovo says
Hi Philip, great to hear from you. Regarding temperatures, you have extremes in every sense, I mentioned this a bit. In the evening and in the early morning everything was totally frozen at the hut. But on the summit, there were people sunbathing, literally. So do not rely on anything light, you can get hypothermia and die. Have a warm fleece in the pack all the time, gloves, a warm cap. If of any help, have a look in my text about clothing in the Alps.
Konstantinos says
Hi Jovo. Im not a very good english speaker, so forgive for the mistakes. I m searching for my first 4000m peak. I thing i can climb Bishorn. I like solo like you are. I like your story very much. It was very useful for me to read it and very interesting. I wonder if midle September is a good period for a 4K mountain. Or the condition will be very hard? I come from Greece. September is usually like summer here!
Jovo says
Hi Konstantinos, thank you, great to hear from you.
I just came from the Alps and have seen how much less snow there is now as compared with July when I mostly go. So you can expect all crevasses to be visible in September. It is better to have somebody, it is relatively long walk over the glacier. You may compare this with Weissmies south side route where you will not have glacier at all. So perhaps this could be a better alternative. Good luck in any case and do let me know how it was.
Konstantinos says
Thank you for the reply. The informations are very useful. Its good to know that snow is less this period and crevasses are visible! I will check Weissmies also. I will try to find someone to climb with me. I know its more safe. Thank you a lot.
Maarten says
Great story, loved reading it.
I have some questions tho…
I’m planning to climb the Bishorn with 2 friends in the summer of 2016, and i’m wondering what kind equipment we would need… Like, is it doable with only crampons and warm clothing, or would we need to use ropes, ice climbing tools,… What would you recommend?
We are pretty experienced hikers, but this would be the first time going to this altitude and actually summiting a 4k mountain…
Thanks in advance.
Jovo says
Hi Maarten, great to hear from you. You have seen I did it solo and this was not the smartest way because of hidden crevasses. You need crampons and since you are in the group of 3, definitely have a rope, 20-30 meters good enough. This implies harness of course. With this you will feel far more safe. This is a quite simple glacier walk and you will need nothing else. I have seen more recent photos of the Tracuit hut, it has been modified completely, but do not go without reservations because it is always full, popular place. Best luck to you.
Maarten says
Thank you so much for the reply!
Problem is that we do not have experience with ropes and harnasses, so we’ll need some more preparation than i thought 🙂
Jovo says
Hi Maarten, this is very easy for this particular climb because this is not a technical one. Each of you will have a harness and those on the front and on the back will attach the rope by a simple 8-type knot. The middle person will have an extra carabiner. This is all. Putting a harness is straightforward. You may try without it all, I did it, but better not.
I warmly recommend the nearby Barrhorn, the highest snow free mountain in the Alps, here you do not need any equipment, just a reasonably hard boots. The reason to do this is because you will have the complete route to Bishorn visible in front of view. Have a look in the link, you will see my photos there.
Maarten says
wow thanks so much for the replies!
The Barrhorn looks awesome and we might do that one to warm up for the Bishorn or something like that 🙂
It looks like a great summit with great views, and a good physical challenge aswell, as we will stay in Zinal so it will be a trip of at least 2 days 🙂
Thanks so much for all the info, I love Switzerland and mountains in general, and its awesome to see other people super involved and enthusiastic like you! 🙂
Jovo says
No problem, it was a pleasure, I love the Alps. All the best to you.
Carlos says
You are very intelligent and your profile has an awesome professional feel. Reading your website almost made me feel like I knew what to do. The information you provide for “How to start mountain climbing” is very informative. All I would need is your webpage and I’m all set. I’m going to be passing this on because my uncle does a lot of mountain climbing, and I know he would enjoy this. Absolutely flawless!
Jovo says
Hi Carlos, you made my day with your kind words. Many thanks indeed. All the best to you and good luck to your uncle in his climbing.
Iain carthew says
Hi, what an adventure it would be, I love the outdoors but nothing to strenuous and have never thought about mountain climbing. Such a detailed site, looks like you have put in a lot of time and effort, but I guess you would if it is something you are passionate about. I was about to ask a question on mountain climbing, there is no need as you have answered them already on your site.
Jovo says
Thank you Iain for kind words, this means a lot to me. I did put a lot of time in this, my true passion I admit.
Megan says
Love the story of your climb! It sounds like this was an eventful, but not too eventful, venture for you. The mattress room sounds like quite an experience. Are huts like this common on most mountains?
The views are absolutely breathtaking. I was in Switzerland in 2005…just for a day, as we were traveling north to Germany…and we went up Mt. Pilatus, though, I didn’t have to do any work to get up there, haha. Far and away one of the most beautiful views I’ve ever seen. Very interesting stuff. Thanks for sharing!
Jovo says
Hi Megan, thank you for reading my text and for the comment. Yes, the hut is a typical one, you will find such huts throughout Swiss Alps. Pleasant places in general but those are not hotels.
Nigel says
Wow! Fantastic views. I also live in Switzerland, in Ticino and we often go to skiing with the kids. I don’t ski, but I do “climb” with snow shoes. I usually go with a friend who leaps up the slopes like a goat. I always suffer, but I enjoY getting to the top. I’ll need to train for a while before I go near any mountains this winter and I will visit your website again for future reference. Thanks!
Jovo says
Hi Nigel, great to read your comment, many thanks. So you are from the area, lucky you. Bishorn is one of easy targets if yiu want over 4000 meters, doable with ordinary physical conditions.
Eric says
So has Bishorn been your toughest trek? I notice you mention you are climbing alone, this is not common nor safe though I suppose you are already aware of this.
I am in no condition to make a pass at Bishorn or any other mountains as I’ve suffered a severe injury and my adventuring days are done.
I love to read about adventures, especially in the mountains. If this was not your toughest climb which has been?
Eric
Jovo says
Hi Eric, thank you for the comment. No it is not safe and it is not reasonable to go solo. But that is how I go, do not have much choice. I would not say this was the toughest one, but frankly I am not sure which I would put on the first place. They are all different. Perhaps Weissmies because this was a climb directly from the valley at one go, and overnight.
RoxySue says
In your experience does high altitude sickness set in faster or slower based on how hard you’re exerting yourself? How about age? I was hiking in Colorado twenty years ago and found it difficult and think I suffered some minor symptoms you describe. I’m going back in a few weeks and am concerned I might feel worse because I’m…. well, older now.
Jovo says
Hi RoxySue, this question is not directly related to this text, more on my another page. So I suggest you to have a look there. In few words only, this is only the matter of acclimatization, the age does matter only for stamina nothing else.