Five best 4,000m peaks to climb in the Alps for beginners
What's the best 4,000m peak in the Alps for beginners? We asked five British Mountain Guides who are based in the Alps this question - Tim Blakemore, Jon Bracey, Matt Helliker, Andy Perkins and Tania Noakes. All of them picked a peak in Switzerland - testament to the concentration of excellent peaks of that altitude there.
Progressing to alpine routes can be intimidating and rightly so – as well as rock climbing and gear placements you need to be able to judge the weather and conditions, climb ice and snow, be safe in a remote environment, and cope with long approaches and altitude. These routes should only be undertaken by those who have learnt the appropriate skills. If in doubt, you know the score: hire a guide.
Breithorn | 4,164m
Pennine Alps, Switzerland
The Breithorn is the easiest 4,000m peak in the Alps and ideally suited to beginners. Only 1.5 to 2 hours from the Kleine Matterhorn lift, the South-South-West Flank route has been the gateway to many novice alpinists starting their careers. Graded F it is little more than a steep walk with one rimaye to cross. If conditions are good a further summit (there are four further distinct tops above 4,000m) can be easily reached by the sometimes corniced SSW ridge at PD (a little harder).
READ: How to climb the Breithorn
Bishorn | 4,153m
Pennine Alps, Switzerland
My favourite 4,000m peak for beginners is the Bishorn 4,153m. Away from the busy summer alpine valley bases, the hut approach starts from Zinal in the picturesque and serene Val d'Anniviers of the Valais Alps. There are no ski lifts, so start early for the five-hour hike to the Cabane de Tracuit via the Roc de la Vache. It's a great hut with brilliant food and welcoming staff. The next day gentle glacial slopes gradually lead you up to the pristine snowy summit with inspiring views across the Alps.
Recommendation by Jon Bracey. More about Jon: www.adventureconsultants.com
Castor | 4,226m
Pennine Alps, Switzerland
For me Castor was one of my first ever 4000m peaks and one that's surrounded by other alpine giants, which is bound to get the imagination flowing! One of the best ways to climb Castor for me would be starting from the beautiful Rifugio Quintino Sella, to climb a route entirely on glacier but without any real technical difficulty to the SE ridge, here the knife edge, airy ridge to its pyramidal summit will increase the heart rate … but not only due to the altitude! Focus and best foot forward.
Recommendation by Matt Helliker. More about Matt: matthelliker.com
Weissmies | 4,017m
Pennine Alps, Switzerland
The Weissmies is probably my favourite. Why? The south ridge is doable in a wide variety of conditions. The Almageller hut at its base is everything a hut should be. It’s low in the 4,000m bracket so acclimatisation is easier. The full traverse up the south side and down the north face is a great journey but check the conditions with locals before committing to it. Also, there’s reason why it’s the banner shot on my website!
Recommendation by Andy Perkins. More about Andy: andypmountainguide.com
Piz Palü | 3,900m
Bernina Massif SW Switzerland
The fact that this one falls a touch below 4,000m has protected it from popularity so it remains a more wild alpine experience. The valley base is the Engadine, home to the famous ski resort St Mortiz. Piz Palü is a beautiful, striking ridgeline composed of three summits linked by airy snow crests and rocky scrambling. It is very accessible from the nearby Diavolezza hut (2,978m), which is more like a hotel with both basic and luxury options. In good conditions, it is possible to take an early flight to Milan Bergamot airport, arrive in time for the last lift and climb it in a long weekend. The traverse of the ridge itself will test all of your alpine skills but at a relatively simple level. The climbing is never sustained and the ridge broadens regularly to allow you to catch your breath, regain your energy and to take in the awe-inspiring views of the Bernina range.
Recommendation by Tania Noakes. More about Tania: www.classicclimbs.com
- 5 favourite Exmoor walks using the new Great Bradley Bridge
- Five historic walking routes to explore Scotland in autumn and winter
- Women in Adventure Film Workshop at Kendal Mountain Festival
- BMC Community hike at Kendal Mountain Festival with Komoot
- December BMC Open Forum
- Clubs Open Forum
- Promoting your club using social media | Club Support Webinar
- Mental health, nutrition & exercise during menopause
- BMC x ClimbOut Queer Climbing Session at Kendal Mountain Festival
- Top 5 walks & climbs around the newly repaired footpaths at Haytor Rocks, Dartmoor
- Youth Climbing Series Grand Final to be Hosted in Leeds
- A new, exciting idea for your Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) days with the BMC
- Gear Maintenance for Climbing and Mountaineering Clubs | Club Support Webinar
- A third of rubbish removed from Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) could be avoided with an All-In Deposit Return Scheme
- Your burning questions answered with Auntie Gravity | Summit Magazine
- BMC welcomes four new members to the Members' Council
- Laura Needham appointed as Head of Performance at the British Mountaineering Council
- Alpine Gems | Dent Blanche, South Ridge
- Happy 100th Gwen Moffat!
- BMC North West Area Hill Walk | Saturday 30th November
- 5 things you didn’t know about hill walking’s most important plant
- Sphagnum moss planting | 15th November
- BMC Peak Area Hill Walk | Monday 4th November
- Climbing in the sun: Steve McClure's ultimate winter destinations
- BMC South Wales Area Meeting
- The future of wild camping on Dartmoor: Supreme Court to decide on historic right
- BMC Huts Seminar
- Aggarwal, Losey Sail, and Musson Medal in Arco at IFSC Paraclimbing World Cup
- 14 reasons why we can't ignore footpath erosion
- BMC volunteers remove 2,765 items of litter from Yr Wyddfa
- British Mountaineering Council 2025 membership fee update
- Meet your 2024 BMC Volunteer Award winners
- Off the Wall: CCPG Update | June 2024
- BMC South West Area Meeting
- Rock up abroad with BMC Travel Insurance
- Toby Roberts Claims Bronze at IFSC Boulder World Cup in Prague
- The BMC welcomes the new Skiddaw rewilding project in the Lake District
- CEO Update | September 2024
- Supporting your tendons, joints, and cartilage through the decades: a guide for hill walkers
- Zoe Spriggins
- Roger Murray to step down as BMC Chair in November 2024
- Where to break your sport grade barrier abroad
- Climbing Equipment Safety
- First ever litter pick on hard-to-reach Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) gullies
- Top 10 Via Ferratas in France, Italy and the UK
- Climbing ban lifted in Carn Gowla, Cornwall
- Review of BMC Huts Survey 2023
- Mend Our Mountains: BMC volunteers create 50m stepping stone path in Eryri (Snowdonia)
- BMC Annual Report 2023
- Essential Nutrients for Hill Walkers: Fuel Your Adventure with These Nutritious Snacks
Related Content
Rock Destinations
Planning an adventure? Remember to pack BMC Travel Insurance. We’ve got your back: from bouldering in France to trekking in India, sport climbing in Kalymnos to new routes in the Himalaya. Here are five reasons why BMC Travel Insurance is built for the mountains.
Mountaineering Destinations
Want to know everything you need to know about how to climb the Breithorn - one of the classic "4,000ers". Mountain Guide Andy Perkins offers his insider tips.
Indoor Climbing Skills
All the tips on how to move from indoor climbing to outdoor climbing
Rock Climbing Skills
A series of guides to some of the most popular scrambles in England, Scotland and Wales.
Rock Climbing Articles
The Youth Ready to Rock Sport climbing course is designed to help young climbers (11-17 year olds) make their first moves onto rock by having a fun day out, as well as covering the use of some key skills and equipment, for both the participant and the parent/carer.
Hillwalking Destinations
It's no easy feat, but with a little advice, organisation, knowledge and determination, climbing the Wainwrights is doable for almost anyone. This beginner-friendly guide aims to teach you about the fells and how to plan for and complete them.
Rock Destinations
Here are five of the best places to go for a weekend of nerve-testing scrambling.
Hill Walking Articles
Snowdonia-based fell running guides Sarah and Ian Ridgway share their top 10 tips for beginner fell runners.
Mountaineering Destinations
Get the inside knowledge: IFMGA Mountain Guide Caroline George offers some beta on route-finding, gear, and tackling the cruxes of Chamonix's classic AD alpine route, Cosmiques Arete.
Mountaineering Destinations
Get your hands and feet on rocky slopes and snow, taluses and airy gendarme-studded ridges. Why not challenge yourself to reach the summit, or traverse one of our top 10 alpine peaks this summer?
Mountaineering Destinations
The Matterhorn is surely the world’s most iconic peak. Its commanding, isolated position at the head of the valley is unique in the Alps and its claim to being one of the world’s most beautiful mountains is justified. Mountain Guide Tim Blakemore offers his top tips on reaching its summit successfully.
Mountaineering Destinations
We asked five experienced climbers for their top pick of Europe's alpine routes to get you inspired...
Mountaineering Destinations
Five of Chamonix's leading ski guides tell us their favourite beginner ski tours in and around Chamonix.
Rock Climbing Skills
What are the different types of climbing and mountaineering and what do they involve?
Article
Here's how winter climbing grades work.
Mountaineering Destinations
In 2014, Swiss super-alpinist Ueli Steck flew into Scotland for an under-the-radar mixed climbing hit with British alpinist and photographer Jon Griffith. Sarah Stirling tracked him down to find out just what he thought of our Scottish winter climbing, whether he’ll be back and what he’s got planned next.
Mountaineering Learn Skills
Winter Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor Rob Johnson explains the essentials of choosing and using your first ice axe and crampons for winter mountaineering.
Rock Climbing Skills
Trad climbing offers an unparalleled sense of freedom. With the appropriate skills, training, and equipment you really do have the ability to go anywhere. Here we give the low down on how to get started.
Mountaineering Learn Skills
What does it take to become a mountain guide? Newly qualified IFMGA British Mountain Guide Tania Noakes gives us an exclusive inside look at the advice she'd have given her younger self to do it sooner.
Rock Climbing Articles
The Youth Ready to Rock Trad climbing course is designed to help young climbers (11-17 year olds) make their first moves onto rock by having a fun day out, as well as covering the use of some key skills and equipment, for both the participant and the parent/carer. Trad climbing is the most popular style of climbing on British crags.
Article
Here are a few of the most gruelling, exhausting, rewarding and brilliant challenge walks Britain has to offer.
Mountaineering
Heading to the Alps this summer? Six Chamonix mountain guides explain their favourite routes, all packed with high adventure but with moderate technical difficulty.
Mountaineering Learn Skills
A range of Chamonix's expert skiers offer their top tips to improve your off-piste: pro skier Ross Hewitt, Avalanche Academy Director and Mountain Guide Stuart McDonald, and off-piste skiing instructors Alison Culshaw and Dee O'Neill.
Rock Destinations
Thought sport climbing was all about tiny holds on short routes? Think again. Here we've got five top European venues to recommend you:
Rock Climbing Skills
Mountaineering Destinations
Get the inside knowledge: Chamonix-based Mountain Guides Will Sim and Stuart MacDonald offer the wealth of their experience for those thinking of ticking the highest point in Western Europe.
Rock Climbing Skills
Mountaineering Destinations
Are you brave enough for our top five hardest black ski runs in Europe? Ski on - if you dare.
Rock Climbing
Here are Steve's McClure's top 8 crags for kids:
Hill Walking
Forget ghost stories and horror movies - a simple walk in the story-stuffed British wilds is the best way to get your skin crawling.
Get Climbing
Here's all you need to know about starting indoor bouldering
Mountaineering Destinations
Mountains have always meant more to humanity than just lumps of rock. We take a look at five summits with mysterious, magical or mythological significance.
Mountaineering
No other mountain in the Alps elicits emotions like the Eiger. Foreboding and dominant above the Alpine village of Grindelwald, it has been the inspiration for Hollywood films, books and countless mountaineers. IFMGA Mountain Guide Tim Blakemore explains how to climb the Eiger.
Mountaineering Destinations
Here's how to climb Gran Paradiso - the highest independent peak in Italy (the Matterhorn shares its borders with Switzerland). It offers outstanding views across the Alps from its summit and is graded F+ and 4,061m high.
Rock Climbing Learn
If you've learnt to climb routes indoors, sport climbing can be a logical first step into the exciting world of outdoor climbing. Here's how to get started...
Rock Destinations
Planning a winter sport-climbing escape? Leave the crowds and polish behind with these five best-kept mid-grade Spanish sport secrets. Dos cervezas por favor.
Rock Climbing
Here’s a selection of the best novice sport crags in the UK along with tips on essentials such as parking, guidebooks and what each is best for.
Rock Destinations
The British Isles is famous for having some of the best trad climbing in the world, and for good reason: it’s all packed into a relatively small area, yet offers a huge variety of rock types and styles of climbing.
Rock Climbing Skills
Live near London and want to climb outside? Unusual, specific skills are required to access, protect and enjoy the capital's nearest real rock climbing areas. The sandstone outcrops on the borders of Kent and East Sussex are softer than virtually any other climbable rock. Here are the top five skills you need to get started.
Hillwalking Destinations
Watch five great walks in the Lake District, including family inspiration, lesser-known routes to popular summits and dog-friendly fell walking.
Hill Walking Learn
The British hills offer beauty, challenge and adventure, as well as the opportunity to keep fit and healthy. Find out more in this BMC booklet.
Here are our top picks for Deep Water Soloing locations in Europe.
Join us as we explore five breathtaking walks on the UK's national trails with YHA (England & Wales) as part of the YHA Festival of Walking.
Mountaineering
A bit of Scottish winter climbing history, plus a range of classic routes from Grade II to V, complete with big stunning photos and brief descriptions. You're welcome.
Mountaineering Articles
Where are you currently getting your mountain inspiration from? Are the walls in your house lined with photos and paintings of stunning peaks? Your social media feeds endlessly presenting you with trails and skylines to add to the list of high places to explore? We're here to add to that by giving you five more films to keep your inspiration levels up. Enjoy the watch.
Rock Climbing
Grab a brew, get comfy and enjoy our top five trad climbing films from the BMC TV channel to inspire your next tradventure...
Mountaineering Articles
Are the Alps falling down? IFMGA Mountain Guide Andy Perkins has a stark warning about the impact of climate change on the Alps: “I don’t have children but if I did I wouldn’t persuade them to be mountain guides. I’d be saying ‘Get your yacht sailing ticket...'" Katy Dartford interviews Andy to find out more.
Here’s a rundown on ten of the best places to boulder outside for beginners.
For most people, walking all the Wainwrights is a challenge spread over many, many years. But James Forrest decided he wanted to up the ante, turn it right up to 11, go all out and walk them all in one outing and entirely self-supported. Is he mad or magnificent? You decide.