Piz Bernina Überschreitung über Biancograt

Here you can find the complete tour report >>

Piz Bernina crossing via Bianco ridge

Starting point Pontresina train station: From here, you can either take the marked hiking trail through the forest (for hot days) or take the gravel road into Val Roseg to the Roseg Alp. Here you branch off the road and, after a short stretch of valley, climb up the slope to the left until you arrive just before the lateral moraine of the Tschierva glacier. Over the grassy slope it now goes steeply uphill for a short time and then along the lateral moraine to the hut.

On the summit day, take the path behind the hut to the two ascent chains and after the second chain turn sharply right (sign). Now under a waterfall along the partly marked path. In a gravel field, the path is difficult to see, the best thing to do here is to descend and then climb over good block terrain to the beginning of the glacier. Depending on the conditions, you can cross the glacier to the left (see map) or ascend directly and cross the north flank in front of the Fuorcla Prievlusa under the Randkluft. The latter is preferable and is also shown at the Tschiervahütte.

After reaching the rocks, it goes over a clear edge chasm onto them and past the markings (belay points) to the stirrups. Here you can climb up safely on a running rope (attention rockfall in the entire area!). At the Fuorcla Prievlusa, the easy climbing starts on the north side: You cross clearly to the west and over a deeper, wide gully to the ridge. Now continue along the ridge.

Depending on the conditions, the following rock towers have to be climbed or changed on the east side. The climbing remains easy, but belays are only possible with a head (no more hooks). Due to the steepness of the snow flanks, the rock is the safe way and also the only one in late summer. At the end of the large tower, you can abseil - onto a ledge or, with a long rope, over the edge gap onto the snow. The "shark fin" must also be climbed from the east at the beginning, then slightly west on the ridge. The descent takes place on a crossing ledge - now you reach the "Firngrat".

Due to the erosion, this is rather bare in late summer or a snow pit appears on the west side along the ridge, at the end of which the ridge rocks protrude. The ridge itself is very narrow in parts and drops deeply towards the east. Walking on the rope must be well considered and mastered here (rope team fall!). After three steeper upturns with flat quiet passages, you reach Piz Bianco without the possibility of taking a break.

Overtaking is only possible at the second steep section (wall-like). At Piz Bianco, the rest of the trail is free of snow or ice, depending on the conditions. The abseils are not mandatory, belays are only available at heads until the last upswing. From the last notch it is now about 140 rope meters to the summit - the climbing is not difficult.

The summit has no cross and is only recognizable by the union of the three ridges (north, east, south). The south ridge (Spallagrat) is the descent path. From the summit downhill and following the ridge over the La Spedla notch and further over the firn ridge (partly steep for a short time, be careful with the rope due to rope team fall - there is a glacier break underneath) to the rock step. Here abseil two to four times (not more than 25m each time). Now over the scree to the glacier and the Rifugio Marco e Rosa.

The descent is via the Bellavista terrace, which should not be underestimated. The crevasse zone on the ascent has a massive Western Alpine character (partly house-sized, overhanging crevasses with 30cm wide snow bridges). Once you are on the terrace, cross to the end of it through a good track and then northwards to the first rocks.

Optionally, you stay here for a Piz Palü crossing rather keeping to the right on the slope to Fuorcla Bellavista. If you descend via the Fortezza, after a few meters on the rock you come to abseiling points, which can be climbed down with a lot of activity and good climbing skills. There are now short rock passages and abseils/climbing sections until you are back on the glacier. Due to the defrosting, you have to leave the glacier several times. The rock parts are marked with cairns, but you should always stay relatively directly on the ridge. At point 3122m, it is recommended to descend far to the right through the rock (west side). And a wide arc on the glacier (crevasse zone) until you reach the end of the glacier at P. 2854m.

From here, follow a marked path to descend to a lake and descend briefly very steeply via the north-eastern notch, then a marked path, towards the Morteratsch Glacier. The entrance to the glacier looks difficult, you rather cross about 50m into the glacier to avoid the crevasses on the moraine. Now follow the glacier on the right edge until you descend to the left at the end of the glacier over the rest of the glacier tongue (short poles in the rock as markings). Now over scree to the side glacier gate and over the small bridge to the road. Now follow the road out of the valley to the Hotel Morteratsch train station.

Here you can find the complete tour report >>

Day 1 – Ascent to the Tschierva Hut

From the train station, follow the signs for Val Roseg. You can either walk on the marked hiking trail or follow the gravel road (mountain bike trail or path for horse-drawn carriages). Shortly before the Hotel Roseg, the path branches off to the left up the slope (towards the Tschierva Hut). From now on you make the altitude meters to the hut. It goes very well marked on a well-trodden path in serpentines up the slope further and further. You walk up the lateral moraine of the Tschierva glacier, which no longer exists, until you reach the Tschierva Hut after a short steep section up a grassy slope. The hut landlady is very well informed about the current conditions and, if necessary, also has pictures of the ridge at hand, where, for example, you can see the shark spikes a little closer and thus see the path to climb over. We also take a quick look at where the path continues the next day. But it is very easy to see and we are therefore not worried. Since it is already the end of August, we decide to leave "later" so as not to have to walk too long in the dark.

Day 2 – Over the Bianco ridge to the Piz Bianco and over the Piz Bernina to the Marco e Rosa hut

After a short breakfast, we go out into the darkness punctually at 4:30 a.m. In the beginning, the path is very easy to see, as there are many cairns and markings, and the path is also very well trodden. Later you come to the first chain. Climb up this and then follow the well-trodden path again (you can also see reflectors – very helpful at night :) ). Then you come to a second chain. Directly after this chain you will see a sign pointing the way towards Piz Bernina / Biancograt. Follow this to the right. From now on, it becomes a little more difficult to find the way. At first you can still pay attention to cairns and old markings until you come to a waterfall. Cross this and after some time you find yourself in a scree slope where you can no longer see any markings. It is recommended to descend over good block terrain until you reach flatter terrain and continue to cross until you can climb back to the left to the beginning of the glacier after the steep rocks.

Depending on the conditions, you can cross the glacier to the left (see route) or ascend directly and cross the north flank in front of the Fuorcla Prievlusa under the Randkluft. The latter is to be preferred and is also depicted at the Tschiervahütte. After reaching the rocks, it goes over a clear edge gap past the yellow markings (belay points) to the stirrups. Here we climb up secured on the running rope (beware of falling rocks in the entire area!). At Fuorcla Prievlusa, the easy climb starts on the north side at the beginning: You cross to the right (west) into a deeper, wide gully to the ridge. Now continue along the ridge. There are some bolts in the route that you can use as a guide.

Depending on the snow conditions, you have to climb over the large tower at the end of the first rock passage. Unfortunately, this undertaking takes a lot of time, as the tower is relatively high and there are no more belays and these have to be placed over heads if necessary (but the climbing is quite easy). At the end of the large tower you will find abseiling points. You should then abseil down to the Randkluft and then climb back up to the ridge. There, if there is little snow, it goes back onto the rocks and over the so-called shark peaks. This is again for climbing, but you don't climb all the way up, but at the first opportunity over a nice ledge back down to the ridge.

"Depending on snow conditions" means: If there is little snow, or in late summer at higher temperatures, you have to climb over the rocks, because due to the high temperatures, even when there is snow, the east-facing path past the rocks cannot be recommended, because the snow cover with the ice below can become too slippery due to the steepness of the terrain. In addition, there are no backup options!

After the shark spike, the route then goes to the famous firn ridge. Due to the thawing, it is rather bare in late summer. The ridge itself is very narrow in parts and drops steeply on the left side. Walking on the rope must be well considered and mastered here (rope team fall!). We secured the bare passages with ice screws. After three steeper upturns with flatter quiet passages in between, you reach the Piz Bianco without the possibility of taking a break. Due to the narrow ridge, overtaking is only possible at the second steep section (wall-like).

After the Piz Bianco, we now continue in the rocky terrain. Depending on the conditions, the rest of the way to Piz Bernina is now completely free of ice and snow. Therefore, it is highly recommended to pack your crampons, especially in late summer. The abseils are not mandatory, you can also climb down if you want. The abseiling points are available, otherwise it goes along the ridge for some time in easy climbing. Intermediate belays are not really available, but you can belay again on heads if necessary. From the last notch, it is now about 150 metres of rope to the summit of Piz Bernina.

The summit, like the Piz Bianco, does not have a cross, but a small symbol marks the summit and there is also a summit book. Here you can meet additional rope teams that rise from the simpler Spallagrat. We follow this down to the Marco e Rosa hut. The easy climbing on the rock (almost walking terrain) alternates with two firn ridge passages. You should handle the rope carefully and secure it a little over your head to avoid a rope team fall. At the steep rock step, the abseiling points begin. You can now abseil 2-4 times with short interruptions until you reach the bottom of the glacier. Now over the glacier down to the Marco e Rosa hut.

The descent

The way down leads via the Bellavista terrace, which should not be underestimated. The crevasse zone has a massive Western Alpine character (partly house-sized, overhanging crevasses with 30cm wide snow bridges). Normally, the path is well trodden and therefore easy to find. After the terrace, the path goes up towards Palü, or for the descent down to the rocks of the Fortezza.  Once you have arrived at the rocky ridge, you will see the first abseiling point after a few metres. Again, you can climb down if you want. This is followed by abseiling points with short walking passages until you are back at the glacier. Here you go down the first part until you arrive on a ledge at the foot of the rock tower. Now bypass it on its right side to the left (you can see cairns) until you come back to ice on the other side. Follow the ice on its right side (close to the ridge) until you come to rocks again. Here you can take off the crampons again, as you have to walk a bit on partly sloping slabs. At point 3122m, we recommend descending far to the right through the rock (west side) until you meet the now flatter glacier again.

Here you now make a wide arc on the glacier (crevasse zone) until you arrive at the end of the glacier at point 2854m. Now it's best to take off the crampons again, as there is another longer rock passage. Follow the clearly visible cairns, cross the rock to the back and then to the right before following the clearly visible climbing tracks down to the small lake. There you will find a steep gully with a lot of scree behind it, which you follow down (again following the cairns).

Once you arrive at the Morteratsch Glacier again, you look for an entrance to the glacier. Try to get as far forward as possible on the scree, so you can easily avoid the more crevassed part. Otherwise, just get into the glacier, go a bit into the glacier to avoid the crevassed zone, but always tend to go as far to the right as possible. Now follow the glacier on the right edge until you descend to the left at the end of the glacier over the rest of the glacier tongue (short poles in the rock as markings). Now over scree and over the small bridge to the gravel road. Now follow the road out of the valley to the Hotel Morteratsch train station.