Piz Bernina

4,049 m

'Piz' is the Romansh word for 'peak' (cognate with Italian picco and French pic, but standardly used in Graubünden). The Bernina element is from a pre-Romance toponym of disputed origin, possibly from a Latin or Celtic root meaning 'alder grove' (compare modern German Erle, Italian ontano); the same root gives the Bernina pass below.

Card

Coordinates46.3819° N · 9.9081° E

UIAA rank№ 66 / 82

CountriesSwitzerland

Normal grade

AD · assez difficile

First ascent1850 · Johann Wilhelm Coaz with Jon & Lorenz Ragut Tscharner

Typical seasonJuly to September

Photo of Piz Bernina — Photo: Jphoto · Public domain

Easternmost 4000er in the Alps.

History

The only 4000er east of the Bernina Pass, climbed on 13 September 1850 by the cantonal forester Johann Coaz and two assistants during a topographic survey of Graubünden. Coaz later became the first federal forestry inspector of Switzerland. The Biancograt — the long curving snow arête on the north-west side, sometimes called the 'staircase to heaven' — was climbed in 1878 and is one of the most photographed lines in the eastern Alps.

Location & routes

Major routes

Spallagrat / SE ridge (Normal route)

AD-Topo ↗

Vertical / summit day1,450 m gain · 7h

The standard ascent. From the Diavolezza or Bernina-Hospiz, the approach via the Morteratsch / Pers glaciers leads to the Marco e Rosa hut on the Italian side; from there the summit ridge over Piz Bernina via the Spalla is mixed climbing (II) along a corniced ridge. Often done as a two- to three-day traverse.

Sections

Morteratsch (1896 m)→Boval hut (2495 m)+599 m2h 30m

Boval hut→Rifugio Marco e Rosa (3597 m)+1,102 m5h

Rifugio Marco e Rosa→Summit (4049 m)+452 m3h

Nearby huts

Boval HütteSAC · late June to mid-October2,495 m Rifugio Marco e Rosa de MarchiCAI · late June to mid-September3,597 m TschiervahütteSAC · mid-June to mid-September2,584 m Rifugio Marinelli-BombardieriCAI · mid-June to mid-September2,813 m

← Gross Fiescherhorn · 4,049 m · № 65

66 / 82

Punta Giordani · 4,046 m · № 67 →

Spallagrat / SE ridge (Normal route)Biancograt (NW ridge)

Route lines are approximate — drawn from guidebook waypoints, not GPS tracks. Don't navigate by them.

Huts on this route

Boval Hütte2,495 m

Editor's note

Figures approximated. Rifugio Marco e Rosa is the standard high hut and is not yet in our hut catalogue.

Biancograt (NW ridge)

D · difficileTopo ↗

Vertical / summit day1,700 m gain · 10h

The 'Himmelsleiter' — a long, elegant snow arête to Piz Alv and the Bianco-Bernina ridge traverse. The classic harder route on the Bernina; descent is typically by the Spallagrat normal. Sustained 45–50° snow/ice with mixed pitches on the connecting ridge.

Sections

Pontresina→Tschierva hut (2583 m)+750 m3h 30m

Tschierva hut→Piz Alv (3995 m)+1,412 m6h

Piz Alv→Piz Bernina (4049 m)+250 m4h

Huts on this route

Boval Hütte

2,495 m

Editor's note

Figures approximated. The Tschierva hut is the usual base for this route and is not yet in our hut catalogue.