Piz Bernina
4,048 m
Switzerland
Also known as Бернина, Pizzo Bernina, +1Also known as
Бернина · Pizzo Bernina · ბერნინა
- Elevation
- 4,048 m
- Prominence
- 2,236 m
- Difficulty
- 5/10
- Easy alpine
- Best Season
- Jul–Aug
- Routes
- 2
AdvisoryReported 7 Sep 2025
A 53-year-old Italian climber died after falling about 500 m at the abseil point at the end of the Biancograt; he and his partner had started from the Tschierva hut.
bluewin.chAdvisoryReported 18 Apr 2025
Vandals left the door of the Rifugio Marco e Rosa winter room open four times during the 2024–25 winter, filling it with snow and ruining mattresses and blankets; the manager said he was considering no longer making the winter room available.
montagna.tv
Routes
2Sources differ: AD- (Camptocamp (Diavolezza–Marco e Rosa approach, rock 3b)) · III/IV (Camptocamp (French text: one move of III/IV on the first step, well equipped))
The usual route to the highest summit of the Eastern Alps: Diavolezza lift, a long crevassed glacier approach over the Fortezza rock rib (III, equipped) and the Bellavista terraces to the Rifugio Marco e Rosa (3,609 m), then a short equipped rock ridge (II–III) to La Spedla (4,020 m) and a knife-edge snow crest to the summit.
Elevation Profile
approximate line- Distance
- 9.3 km
- one way
- Ascent
- +1,597 m
- −523 m lost on the way up
- High Point
- 4,048 m
- Time Up
- 7h 32m
- DIN 33466
- Time Down
- 6h 06m
- DIN 33466 · same way back
Take the Diavolezza cable car (valley station on the Bernina railway, 2,093 m) to the top station (2,973 m). Follow the marked path south and down towards the Piz Trovat, then descend onto the Vadret Pers at about 2,700 m and climb south-west towards Isla Persa and up snowfields to the Fortezza rib. Climb its rock step (about 15 m, III, well equipped with yellow and red marks and abseil rings) at about 3,370 m, follow the snowy Fortezza crest, then traverse south below the Bellavista on the crevassed terraces at about 3,600 m, with detours round crevasses, to the Fuorcla Crast'Agüzza and the Rifugio Marco e Rosa (3,609 m). The SAC gives PD+ and 5½–7½ hours; roping up is essential. Camptocamp notes that this approach is a large part of the route's difficulty. From the hut climb the broad snow slope (about 200 m) to the foot of the south (Spalla) ridge at about 3,840 m. Two pitches of II–III on bolted, not entirely solid rock, then a steeper 25 m step (III, pegs and bolts, passed on the west/right side depending on the description) lead on; much of the rock can be avoided on snow slopes in good conditions. Continue on easy rock and an airy snow crest to La Spedla (Punta Perrucchetti, 4,020 m), the highest point in Italy on the mountain, then descend to the saddle on a very sharp snow crest and climb easy rocks (I–II) to the summit (4,048 m). Descend the same way; three equipped 25 m abseils get you down the rock section, but expect queues in the afternoon between parties going up and down. Most parties sleep a second night at Marco e Rosa or traverse the Bellavista and Piz Palü back to Diavolezza. The Italian approach from Campo Moro in Valmalenco via the Rifugio Marinelli and fixed ropes below the Marco e Rosa takes about 7 hours to the hut.
Start
Diavolezza2,974 m
- Diavolezza cable car
- Rhaetian Railway (Bernina line, St. Moritz/Pontresina–Tirano) to the Bernina Diavolezza station at the valley station of the cable car.
Stages
| Day | Stage | km | m ascent | m descent | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Diavolezza → Rifugio Marco e Rosa | 8.2 | 1,148 | 513 | 5h 52m |
| 2 | Rifugio Marco e Rosa → Piz Bernina | 1.1 | 452 | 10 | 1h 40m |
Waypoints
- Lift: Diavolezza2,974 m
- Crux: Fortezza3,476 m
15 m rock step (III), equipped; then the snowy Fortezza crest
- Hut: Rifugio Marco e Rosa3,607 m
- Shoulder: La Spedla4,018 m
- Summit: Piz Bernina4,048 m
Key Passages
- Crevassed Vadret Pers below Isla Persa
- Fortezza rock step (III, equipped)
- Crevassed Bellavista terraces at about 3,600 m
- Spallagrat rock steps (II–III, bolted)
- Knife-edge snow crest from La Spedla to the summit
Equipment
0/10 packedDownloads
Route confidence 80%Overview
At 4,048 m the highest summit of the Eastern Alps and the only 4000er east of the Valais, rising above Pontresina in the Engadine. Its normal route from the Rifugio Marco e Rosa is PD+ with equipped rock; the Biancograt, its famous snow ridge from the north, is AD.
Piz Bernina is the culminating point of the Bernina Range on the Swiss–Italian border south of Pontresina and St. Moritz. The summit is in Switzerland, the highest point of Graubünden; its south shoulder, La Spedla (4,020 m), is the highest point of Lombardy. Surrounded by glaciers, including the Morteratsch and Tschierva, it is one of the most topographically isolated peaks in the Alps, with over 2,200 m of prominence.
The usual route starts at the Diavolezza cable car: a long, crevassed glacier approach over the equipped Fortezza rib and the Bellavista terraces to the Rifugio Marco e Rosa (3,609 m) on the Italian side, then the Spallagrat, a short ridge of bolted rock (II–III) and a sharp snow crest to the top. From Italy the hut is reached from Valmalenco via the Rifugio Marinelli. The classic alternative is the Biancograt from the Tschierva hut, a long, elegant snow arête often called the 'stairway to heaven', followed by a mixed ridge with abseils.
The climbing is not hard, but the glacier approaches are complex and heavily crevassed, the summit ridges are very exposed and crowded in good weather, and the high hut leaves little margin for altitude problems. A climber died on the Biancograt in September 2025.
Climbing Notes
Requires sound glacier skills (route-finding through crevasse fields, roped travel, crevasse rescue), confident cramponing on exposed snow crests, and scrambling on bolted grade II–III rock with abseils. Acclimatise first, for example on Piz Palü, Piz Morteratsch or with a night at Diavolezza; the Marco e Rosa hut at 3,609 m is high for a first night. Many climbers hire a Pontresina or Valmalenco guide, especially for the Biancograt.
Typical itinerary for the normal route: day 1 Diavolezza to the Marco e Rosa hut via the Fortezza (5½–7½ hours); day 2 summit via the Spallagrat and back to the hut, then either down to Diavolezza or, after another night, over the Bellavista and Piz Palü. For the Biancograt: day 1 Pontresina to the Tschierva hut (about 3½ hours); day 2 the ridge (8–9 hours to the summit) and down to Marco e Rosa; day 3 back to Diavolezza. Start early, avoid weekends on the Biancograt, and expect queues at the abseils.
History
The topographer Johann Coaz, with his assistants Jon and Lorenz Ragut Tscharner, made the first ascent on 13 September 1850 by the east ridge after crossing the Morteratsch glacier, and named the mountain after the Bernina Pass. Francis Fox Tuckett and F. A. Y. Brown with Christian Almer and Franz Andenmatten climbed the south (Spalla) ridge on 23 June 1866. On 12 August 1876 Henri Cordier and Thomas Middlemore with Johann Jaun and Kaspar Maurer climbed the Biancograt to Piz Bianco but judged the gap to the main summit impossible; Paul Güssfeldt with Hans Grass and Johann Gross completed the ridge exactly two years later, on 12 August 1878. The first winter ascent was on 15 March 1929.
Season
Best Jul–Aug- January: Not advisable
- February: Not advisable
- March: Possible
- April: Good
- May: Possible
- June: Good
- July: Best (best window)
- August: Best (best window)
- September: Good
- October: Possible
- November: Not advisable
- December: Not advisable
- Jan
- Winter; huts unstaffed (winter rooms)
- Feb
- Winter
- Mar
- Ski-mountaineering; Marco e Rosa opens for the spring season
- Apr
- Ski-mountaineering season (Tour du Bernina)
- May
- Late ski season
- Jun
- Tschierva hut staffed from mid-June; snowy ridges
- Jul
- Best period; Biancograt usually in condition July to mid-August
- Aug
- Main season; snow arête can turn icy late in the month
- Sep
- Stable weather often good; Marco e Rosa closes mid-September
- Oct
- Huts closing; early winter
- Nov
- Winter
- Dec
- Winter
Access & Permits
- Hut Booking
- Rifugio Marco e Rosa (CAI Valtellinese): manager Giancarlo 'Bianco' Lenatti, +39 347 2563096, biancoextrem@libero.it; hut +39 0342 515370. Chamanna Tschierva: online via the SAC Bernina section, or +41 81 842 63 91.
- Fees
- Diavolezza cable car ticket (44 CHF return in 2024 per Camptocamp)
- Overnight fees at the Rifugio Marco e Rosa or Chamanna Tschierva
- Optional horse-drawn carriage or luggage transport up Val Roseg
- Rules
- No private cars in Val Roseg above Pontresina; walk, cycle or take the horse-drawn carriage
- Getting There
Pontresina
Zurich (ZRH) or Milan Malpensa (MXP); Engadin Airport at Samedan for private aviation only
- Rhaetian Railway Bernina line (St. Moritz–Pontresina–Tirano) to Bernina Diavolezza for the cable car
- Rhaetian Railway to Pontresina for Val Roseg and the Tschierva hut
- By car: via the Julier or Maloja passes to St. Moritz and Pontresina, or from Tirano over the Bernina Pass; large car park at the Diavolezza valley station
- From Italy: Valmalenco road to Campo Moro for the Marinelli hut approach
Hazards
- Glacier
- Crevasses
- Exposure
- Cornices
- Altitude
- Weather
- Rockfall
Huts & Shelters
2- 2,573 m
Chamanna TschiervaHutStaffedBooking required
100 beds · Staffed mid-June to early October; unstaffed in winter
- 3,609 m
Rifugio Marco e RosaRefugeStaffedBooking required
Staffed in spring (ski season) and July to mid-September; winter room in the old hut (3,597 m)