Piz Palü - Freeski Mountaineering

When we opened the door of the Diavolezza hut in the Swiss Engadine, we were presented with a wonderful picture. Thousands of stars made the night shine and our fatigue disappeared from the bones in one fell swoop. At dawn we could guess the steep wall explored the day before in the distance. It meandered impressively along the east pillar of Piz Palü and disappeared into a sea of snow and ice. During our ascent we always had a good insight into this flank and the conditions seemed almost perfect. After 4 hours of walking we stood at the summit of the 3905 m high Piz Palü. The duty was thus fulfilled and our freestyle could begin. The feeling was breathtaking. It went past blue ice walls, seracs and crevasses. The snow was powdery and invited to long and fast turns. We had to slow ourselves down from time to time, because a fall in the sometimes 50 degree steep terrain would have had a fatal end. Compared to the ascent, which seemed eternal for us, we had arrived at the bottom after far too short a time. Rarely before had we found such conditions in a steep slope. Heini Holzer, who was the first to sail the Right Hanging Glacier at Piz Palü, would have had fun with us. Full of joy, we took a last look back at the glacier massif behind us. Accompanied by countless tourers and mountaineers, there were now two tracks on the mountain that differed from all the others!

get up early!

Take the Diavolezza cable car to the Diavolezza hut at an altitude of 2973m. From the hut 400 m descent to the Morteratsch glacier. There begins the 1500 m long ascent. The easy ascent leads past the east pillar of the Piz Palü and after about 3.5 hours you reach the saddle on the summit ridge. From here it goes steeply uphill, slightly exposed at the top, but without further technical deposits to the east summit (3882 m), which is reached in half an hour. And then comes the descent to the foot of the glacier! Past house-high seracs in the middle of a breathtaking mountain world. End point of the tour is Morteratsch. From there it goes by train back to the valley station of the Diavolezza bahn.