Bifertenstock
3,419 m
Switzerland
Also known as Piz DurschinAlso known as
Piz Durschin
- Elevation
- 3,419 m
- Prominence
- 385 m
- Difficulty
- 5/10
- Easy alpine
- Best Season
- Jul–Aug
- Routes
- 1
Routes
1Approximate line — not for navigation
An automated check found that parts of this line could not be matched to mapped trails, so it may stray far from the real route. Use it for planning only, with a map and a guidebook.
Why? 8 check notes
- danger scan: Limmerenpass → Bifertenstock: straight line 3803 m (limit 200 m)
- danger scan: Limmerenpass → Bifertenstock: straight line 3803 m above the last hut/bivouac
- danger scan: Limmerenpass → Bifertenstock: sustained 45° > 45° on a straight line
- last routed vertex 3803 m from the summit (closed by straight)
- 34% straight-line fallback
- Bifertenhütte → Limmerenpass: bridge (snap_failed; one off-graph gap, 1.7 km)
- Limmerenpass → Bifertenstock: straight (snap_failed; DEM rejected: no path below 45° between the endpoints, 3.8 km)
- unresolved waypoints: Start of the Bänderweg, Chained slab below the east ridge, Pt. 3368 (east fore-summit)
Sources differ: PD+ (SAC guide Zentralschweizer Alpen (2010), WS+) · AD (holzding.ch trip report 2008 (ZS, III, 45°), before the chain was fitted) · T5 (hikr.org (2013): ledges T4–T5 with single T6 moves; chained slab T5)
The classic way up the second-highest Glarus Alps peak: from the Bifertenhütte (2,482 m) to the Limmerenpass, then along an exposed natural ledge that crosses two karst bowls in the south face, up a steep firn field and a chained 45° slab to the east ridge, and over the fore-summit Pt. 3368 along a snow crest to the top. WS (PD), about 1,000 m and 4–5½ hours from the hut.
Elevation Profile
approximate line- Distance
- ≈ 10.9 km
- one way
- Ascent
- ≈ +1,692 m
- −178 m lost on the way up
- High Point
- 3,422 m
- Time Up
- ≈ 7h 22m
- DIN 33466
- Time Down
- ≈ 5h 20m
- DIN 33466 · same way back
Most parties start from the Surselva side. Drive from Brigels up the narrow alp road to the small car park just below Alp Quader (1,906 m), or take the summer chairlift from Brigels to Crest Falla and walk up. A marked path crosses pastures past Rubi Sura and runs mostly level to the Bifertenhütte (2,482 m) below the Kistenstöckli, 1½–2 hours. From the north the hut can be reached from Tierfehd by the Kalktrittli cable car, the Muttseehütte and the Kistenpass (4½–5 hours). From the hut, follow path traces west towards the west end of the Kistenstöckli, then faint traces and cairns to the Limmerenpass (2,612 m), where the 4 km east ridge of the Bifertenstock begins. Follow the scree crest to about 2,880 m, where a clearer trace leads into the south flank. At about 2,980 m (cairn, roughly 75 minutes from the hut) the Bänderweg starts: a partly scree-covered band that crosses almost the whole south face through two karst bowls. The first bowl is about T4. At the start of the second, steeper bowl the band narrows to a thin ledge between overhanging rock and slabs (T5), with belays on both sides and one bolt; beyond a rock nose several gullies must be crossed on steep scree and loose flakes, the most delicate part of the tour, with one or two T6 moves depending on the line. At the end of the ledges, put on crampons and climb a firn field of up to about 40° towards a corner below the ridge. The firn field has shrunk and now ends below a slabby 45° rock step of about 20 m; since August 2013 a chain protects it (it can be iced when wet). Scree then leads to the east ridge. A snow crest leads to the fore-summit Pt. 3368; cross it on the crest, bypass a rock tower on the north side above the north face, and follow the corniced crest past Pt. 3351 to the summit, about 1 km from the fore-summit (45 minutes). Keep away from the cornice edge; there may be holes near Pt. 3351. The usual descent reverses the route (3–4 hours to the hut). On the descent, leave the ridge into the south flank just before the saddle east of Pt. 3368 to find the chain. Guided parties from Glarus sometimes descend north from the Limmerenpass via the Limmerenband, a slabby chained ledge, to the Limmerensee and walk out through the power-station tunnel to Kalktrittli.
Start
Alp Quader1,907 m
- Brigels–Crest Falla chairlift (summer and autumn; check dates)
- Train to Tavanasa, PostBus to Brigels, then the summer chairlift Brigels–Crest Falla and on foot via Alp Quader to the hut (about 2¾ hours from Crest Falla)
- Parking at the trailhead
Stages
| Day | Stage | km | m ascent | m descent | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alp Quader → Bifertenhütte | 5.5 | 575 | 6 | 2h 37m |
| 2 | Bifertenhütte → Bifertenstock | 5.5 | 1,113 | 172 | 4h 44m |
Waypoints
- Parking: Alp Quader1,907 m
Small car park a few metres below the alp; toll road from Brigels
- Feature: Rubi Sura2,174 m
- Hut: Bifertenhütte2,480 m
- Col: Limmerenpass2,611 m
- Summit: Bifertenstock3,419 m
Key Passages
- Narrow ledge at the start of the second karst bowl (T5, belays both sides)
- Gully crossings beyond the rock nose in the second bowl
- Steep firn field and chained 45° slab onto the east ridge
- Corniced snow crest over Pt. 3368 to the summit
Equipment
0/11 packedDownloads
Route confidence 63%Overview
The second-highest summit of the Glarus Alps (about 3,420 m), just west of the Tödi on the Glarus–Graubünden border. Its normal route, the Bänderweg, follows a natural ledge across two karst bowls in the south face, then a chained slab and a long snow crest: a long, committing WS tour from a small 24-place hut above Brigels.
The Bifertenstock, Piz Durschin in Romansh, stands immediately west of the Tödi group and sends long ridges in every direction. It overlooks four valleys: the Biferten glacier to the north-west, the Griess glacier to the north-east, Val Punteglias to the south towards Trun and Val Frisal to the south-east. The ridge carries the Glarus–Graubünden border, but the summit itself lies a few tens of metres inside Graubünden, in the municipality of Breil/Brigels. The north side falls to glaciers in steep walls; the south side is a broad face of layered limestone.
The mountain is climbed mostly for its normal route. The Bänderweg uses a band in the rock layers that crosses almost the whole south face through two karst bowls, with deep views down the slabs. It is not technically hard, but it is long and exposed. The ledges are scree-covered, the gullies in the second bowl are loose, and the final firn field has shrunk to leave a 45° slab below the ridge, protected by a chain since 2013. The finish is a corniced snow crest of about 1 km from the fore-summit Pt. 3368.
The base is the Bifertenhütte (Camona Durschin, 2,482 m), owned by the Akademischer Alpenclub Basel. It is a small stone hut with 24 places on a high plateau below the Kistenstöckli, reached in 1½–2 hours from the end of the alp road at Alp Quader above Brigels. The harder lines on the mountain include the east ridge (S), the Eisnase (S-) and north-west face routes.
Climbing Notes
Suited to fit mountaineers who are sure-footed on exposed, loose scree ledges and confident with crampons and an ice axe on steep firn; less experienced parties should hire a guide (local schools run it as a two-day tour). Plan two days: walk to the Bifertenhütte from Alp Quader or Crest Falla on day one, then 4–5½ hours to the summit and 3–4 hours back to the hut, plus 1¼–1½ hours down to Alp Quader. Done as a single day from Alp Quader it is about 12 hours and 1,800 m of ascent with counter-climbs.
Take a helmet, harness, slings and karabiners for the chain, and a 30–40 m rope to belay the narrow ledge at the start of the second bowl. The gully crossings in the second bowl are the most delicate part and are hard to protect. When the chained slab is wet it ices quickly, and the snow crest is corniced on the north side. Faint traces and cairns mark the way from the hut to the ledges, so good visibility matters. Avoid the route in thunderstorm weather. The hut takes cash only and requires a hut sleeping-bag liner; reserve ahead for the summer season.
History
Camptocamp records the first ascent on 7 September 1863 by the guide Heinrich Elmer with Johann August Raillard-Stähelin, Abraham Roth and Georg Sand, and the porters Jakob Stüssi and Christian Vordermann. They went by the Bänderweg on the south side of the east ridge and finished along the east ridge. The firn field that once gave direct access from the ledges to the ridge has melted back into a rock step; in 2013 it was about 47 m high, and a chain was fitted in August 2013. The Bifertenhütte reopened in 2018 after a renovation.
Season
Best Jul–Aug- January: Not advisable
- February: Not advisable
- March: Possible
- April: Possible
- May: Not advisable
- June: Possible
- July: Best (best window)
- August: Best (best window)
- September: Good
- October: Possible
- November: Not advisable
- December: Not advisable
- Jan
- Winter; hut unstaffed (shelter room only)
- Mar
- The SAC portal lists ski routes; for experienced ski-mountaineers only (not researched in detail)
- Apr
- Ski-mountaineering only
- May
- Ledges snow-covered; hut closed
- Jun
- Hut partly staffed; snow often lingers on the ledges and gullies
- Jul
- Hut staffed; firn field usually still in good condition
- Sep
- Firn may be icy and the slab more exposed; check conditions
- Oct
- Hut partly staffed; fresh snow on the ledges makes them treacherous
Access & Permits
- Permits
- Breil/Brigels municipal road permitOptional
The municipality charges for its permit roads (day pass CHF 10, valid for 3 days, per vehicle, licence plate required), sold online, at the municipal office, at several hotels and shops, or by phone at the start of the toll roads. Passes are only sold once the roads are opened in spring. The municipal page does not list individual roads; hikers describe the Alp Quader road as a toll road, so check before driving up.
breil.ch
- Hut Booking
- Book the Bifertenhütte online via the alpsonline.org calendar linked from biferten.ch (summer season), or call +41 79 568 20 16 / email huettenwart@biferten.ch. Unused reservations may be charged.
- Fees
- Road toll for the alp roads above Brigels (day pass CHF 10)
- Brigels–Crest Falla chairlift ticket
- Overnight with half board at the Bifertenhütte (cash only)
- Rules
- Reservation is required for the Bifertenhütte in summer; the hut accepts bookings from guests only, not through booking platforms
- Hut sleeping-bag liner obligatory; no dogs inside the hut (per the hut website)
- Getting There
Breil/Brigels (Graubünden); Ilanz for more services
Zurich Airport (ZRH)
- Train to Tavanasa, then PostBus to Brigels. The summer chairlift goes to Crest Falla (1,666 m), 2¾ hours on foot to the hut; or walk from Brigels via Val Frisal, about 3½ hours
- By car via Chur and Ilanz to Brigels, then the single-track alp road to the car park below Alp Quader (1,906 m); 1½–2 hours to the hut. Taxi Mario in Brigels also drives to Alp Quader
- From the north: train to Linthal, taxi to Tierfehd, Tierfehd–Kalktrittli cable car, then via the Muttseehütte and the Kistenpass to the hut (4½–5 hours)
Hazards
- Exposure
- Rockfall
- Cornices
- Weather
- Remoteness
- Avalanche
Huts & Shelters
1- 2,482 m
BifertenhütteHutStaffedBooking required
24 beds · Staffed July to September, partly in June and October (open daily until about 25 October in 2026); shelter room with 6 places open all year