In contrast to the Weissmies, the Lagginhorn is primarily a rocky peak – with scrambling and ridge climbing offering most of the routes to it’s summit..

The normal route following the WSW Ridge starts from either the Hohsaas or Weissmies huts, with a section of moraine and a short glacier crossing to reach the foot of the mountain. The ascent itself involves a lot of steep walking and scrambling, either on snow, rock or a mixture of both. It’s best to climb the Lagginhorn when the upper slopes are either completely snowed up and possible entirely in crampons, or totally dried out and climbable entirely in boots. When it’s somewhere in between, the upper half can be quite icy and delicate, especially on the descent. The classic, harder route to the summit is the South Ridge – a long and committing AD with 2 abseils half way along. Beyond these, retreat is very difficult.