| Piz Bernina | |
|---|---|
| Piz Bernina (Romansh) Pizzo Bernina (Italian) | |
 Piz Bernina with theBiancograt to the right | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 4,048 m (13,281 ft) |
| Prominence | 2,236 m (7,336 ft)[1] Ranked 5th in the Alps |
| Parent peak | Mont Blanc |
| Isolation | 138 km (86 mi)[2][citation needed] |
| Listing | Canton high point Ultra |
| Coordinates | 46°22′56″N9°54′29″E / 46.38222°N 9.90806°E /46.38222; 9.90806 |
| Naming | |
| Language of name | Romansh |
| Geography | |
  Piz Bernina Location Show map of Alps Piz Bernina Piz Bernina (Switzerland) Show map of Switzerland Piz Bernina Piz Bernina (Italy) Show map of Italy | |
| Location | Grisons,Switzerland (massif partially inItaly) |
| Parent range | Bernina |
| Topo map | Swisstopo 1277 Piz Bernina |
| Climbing | |
| First ascent | 13 September 1850 byJohann Coaz guided by Jon and Lorenz Ragut Tscharner |
| Easiest route | rock/ice climb |
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Piz Bernina (fromRomansh;Italian:Pizzo Bernina,Italian pronunciation:[ˈpittsoberˈniːna]) is the highestmountain in theEastern Alps, the highest point of theBernina Range, and the highest peak in theRhaetian Alps.[3] It rises 4,048 m (13,281 ft) and is located south ofPontresina in theBernina Region and near the major Alpine resort ofSt. Moritz, in theEngadin valley. It is also the most easterly mountain higher than 4,000 m (13,000 ft) in theAlps, the highest point of theSwisscanton ofGrisons, and the fifth-most prominent peak in the Alps. Although the summit lies within Switzerland, the massif is on the border with Italy. The "shoulder" (4,020 m (13,190 ft)) known asLa Spedla is the highest point in the ItalianLombardy region.
Piz Bernina is entirely surrounded by glaciers, of which the largest is theMorteratsch Glacier.
The mountain was named after theBernina Pass in 1850 byJohann Coaz, who also made the first ascent.[4] The prefixPiz (cognate withpeak) comes from theRomansh language of the Grisons; any mountain with that name can be readily identified as being located in southeastern Switzerland.
Piz Bernina is one of the few isolatedAlpine four-thousanders and themost topographically isolated mountain of Switzerland. It is the culminating point of a group of summits slightly lower than 4,000 m (13,123 ft) mostly lying on themain watershed betweenSwitzerland andItaly (such asPiz Scerscen,Piz Zupò, andPiz Palü). The only other summit higher than 4,000 m (13,000 ft) isLa Spedla (theShoulder), a minor prominence south of the mountain, which is also the highest point on the Italian side of the massif.
The summit itself is located on a perpendicular chain (orientated north–south) starting at La Spedla on the border and finishing atPiz Chalchagn, composed also ofPiz Morteratsch andPiz Boval.
Piz Bernina separates two glacial valleys, theTschierva Glacier on the west and theMorteratsch Glacier on the east. The waters flowing on both sides of the mountain end up in theInn River running northeast throughEngadin. South of Piz Bernina the watershed separates thedrainage basins of theDanube (Black Sea) and thePo River (Adriatic Sea). The summit of Piz Bernina is the culminating point of the Danube drainage basin. Politically, it is split between the municipalities ofSamedan andPontresina.
The rocks composing Piz Bernina are mostlydiorites andgabbros. The massif in general is also composed ofgranites, notable on Piz Corvatsch and Piz Palü.[5] Most of the range belongs to theAustroalpine nappes, a tectonic unit whose rocks come from theApulian plate, a small continent which broke away from Africa (Gondwana) before the Alpineorogeny. The Austroalpine nappes are common throughout all of the Eastern Alps.
The first ascent was made via the east ridge in 1850 by the 28-year-old topographer Johann Wilhelm Coaz (1822–1918, from S-Chanf) and his assistants, the brothers Jon and Lorenz Ragut Tscharner. On 13 September 1850, shortly after 6 a.m., they left the Bernina Inn (at 2,050 m (6,730 ft)) with their measuring instruments. They traversed the Labyrinth (on theMorteratsch Glacier) and headed to theFuorcla Crast'Agüzza, a col between theCrast' Agüzza and Piz Bernina. They reached the summit at around 6 p.m.[6]
Johan Coaz wrote in his diary:
In 1866, the south ridge running fromLa Spedla was climbed byFrancis Fox Tuckett and F. A. Y. Brown with guidesChristian Almer and F. Andermatten. They started at midnight from theAlpe Foppa on the Italian side, and reached the summit at 11 a.m., descending toPontresina only a few hours later.
The first attempt to climb the northern ridge, theBiancograt, was made on 12 August 1876 byHenri Cordier andThomas Middlemore with guides Johann Jaun and Kaspar Maurer. They successfully reached the top of the ridge,Piz Alv, but when they saw the chasm lying between them and the summit of Piz Bernina, they considered it to be beyond their powers and returned down the Biancograt.[6] Cordier later declared the gap to be "absolutely impossible".
Exactly two years later,Paul Güssfeldt, accompanied by the guides H. Grass and J. Gross, reached the summit via the Biancograt and accomplished the first complete ascent on this route. The first winter ascent was made on 15 March 1929 by C. Colmus with guides C. and U. Grass. To win abet worth 200 CHF,Hermann Buhl reached the summit of Piz Bernina from the Boval hut in 6 hours; he then descended the north ridge in only 15 minutes, establishing a record.[6]
Piz Bernina is the highest summit of theEngadin region and lies close to the resorts of St. Moritz and Pontresina. The mountain can be seen from different viewpoints with the use of ski-lifts fromDiavolezza,Piz Corvatsch orPiz Nair. TheBernina railway connects St. Moritz with the southernVal Poschiavo through theBernina Pass.
The normal route starts from theRifugio Marco e Rosa, located at 3,600 m (11,800 ft) above the Fuorcla Crast'Agüzza, and follows the route taken by the first ascentionists.
The north ridge, called theBiancograt orCrast Alva (both meaningWhite Ridge), is the most well-known and attractive route to the summit, and is much more difficult than the normal route. The route starts from theTschierva Hut (2,584 m (8,478 ft)) in Val Roseg, accessible fromPontresina. The Biancograt itself starts at the Fuorcla Prievlusa (3,430 m (11,250 ft)) and leads toPiz Bianco (3,995 m (13,107 ft)). To reach the summit, the Bernina gap – which repulsed Cordier, Middlemore, Jaun and Maurer in 1876 – has to be traversed.
Other huts in the area
