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Italy, Switzerland

Also known as Pizzo Sevino

Pizzo Sevino

Elevation
3,025 m
Prominence
672 m
Difficulty
5/10
Easy alpine
Best Season
Aug–Sep
Routes
1

Routes

1
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Approximate 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? 4 check notes
  • danger scan: Bocchetta del Sevino → Piz Corbet: connector line 218 m (limit 200 m)
  • last routed vertex 218 m from the summit (closed by connector)
  • Bivacco del Servizio → Bocchetta del Sevino: bridge (detour; one off-graph gap, 2.1 km)
  • unresolved waypoints: Valle della Sancia weir
AlpinePD-Sources differ: WS-/T4, rock I (marked north ridge); T4+ overall (hikr.org report, September 2024) · F (north ridge from Rifugio Carlo Emilio) (Camptocamp) · WS/T5, II for the direct lower north ridge (hikr.org report, September 2024)UIAAISACT4ScrambleNormal route

Sources differ: WS-/T4, rock I (marked north ridge); T4+ overall (hikr.org report, September 2024) · F (north ridge from Rifugio Carlo Emilio) (Camptocamp) · WS/T5, II for the direct lower north ridge (hikr.org report, September 2024)

The usual way up this remote border peak, from the Italian side: from above the hamlet of Starleggia (Valle Spluga) on marked paths to the unstaffed Bivacco del Servizio (about 2,590 m), then over scree to the Bocchetta del Sevino (2,916 m) and up the blue-and-white marked north ridge (I) to the summit. About 1,400–1,600 m of ascent, normally over two days.

Elevation Profile

approximate line
1,5002,0002,5003,0003,5000 km2468Bivacco del ServizioPiz Corbet
Distance
≈ 8.8 km
one way
Ascent
≈ +1,638 m
−177 m lost on the way up
High Point
3,025 m
Time Up
≈ 6h 55m
DIN 33466
Time Down
≈ 4h 58m
DIN 33466 · same way back

From Campodolcino a narrow road climbs to Starleggia (1,565 m); cars can continue about 70 m higher to a barrier where a driving ban begins (about 1,640 m). There is no public transport above Campodolcino. Walk past Alpe Bocci and the old stone huts of Morone, then on a mountain path through open forest into the Valle della Sancia to a small weir at 2,010 m. Follow a concrete water channel on the level, then a steep path to a broad shoulder leading towards Motto Alto (2,720 m); the path is waymarked red and white and reaches the Bivacco del Servizio (about 2,590 m), below Motto Alto on its south-east side, in a little over 3 hours. From the bivouac, follow the red-and-white path briefly towards Pizzo Quadro, then descend over scree and broken ground to cross a stream at about 2,536 m. A grassy rib, easy to walk and bounded by a rock wall on its south side, leads to about 2,700 m. From there a mostly easy scree slope, with blue-and-white marks on a ramp at the end, leads to the Bocchetta del Sevino (2,916 m). Just before the col a sign separates a 'via facile', which goes over to the Italian side and passes about 300 m below the summit towards the Bocchetta del Pombi, from the summit route ('via difficile'). The marked route first traverses the west (Swiss) flank below the ridge, losing a little height, then gains the north ridge for easy blocky scrambling (I) to the summit. Climbing the lower ridge directly is harder (WS/T5, II). Descend the same way. In fog the scree between the bivouac and the col is hard to navigate. Allow about 2 hours from the bivouac back to the car.

Start

Starleggia1,564 m

  • Train to Chiavenna and bus to Campodolcino; no public transport to Starleggia (taxi or a 2-hour, 500 m walk)
  • Parking at the trailhead

Stages

DayStagekmm ascentm descentTime
1Starleggia → Bivacco del Servizio6.41,056374h 24m
2Bivacco del Servizio → Piz Corbet2.45801392h 31m

Waypoints

  1. Trailhead:
    Starleggia1,564 m

    cars can drive about 70 m higher to a barrier at about 1,640 m

  2. Feature:
    Avert Bocci1,743 m
  3. Feature:
    Morone1,816 m
  4. Bivouac:
    Bivacco del Servizio2,587 m
  5. Col:
    Bocchetta del Sevino2,906 m
  6. Summit:
    Piz Corbet3,025 m

Key Passages

  • Scree slope and ramp to the Bocchetta del Sevino
  • Junction before the col: take the summit route, not the 'via facile' to the Italian side
  • Blocky north ridge (I), blue-and-white marks

Equipment

0/6 packed
Technical
Safety
Footwear
Clothing
Navigation
Hut & Camping

Downloads

Route confidence 60%

Overview

The southernmost 3,000 m peak of the Mesolcina (3,025 m), a pyramid with four ridges on the Swiss–Italian border between Mesocco and Campodolcino. Known as Pizzo Sevino in Italy; remote and pathless from Switzerland, it is usually climbed from the Valle Spluga via a bivouac hut.

Piz Corbet (Pizzo Sevino in Italian) stands on the ridge between the Swiss Mesolcina (Misox) and the Italian Valle Spluga, between Piz Nebion (2,852 m) to the south and Pizzo Quadro (3,015 m) to the north, with the Bocchetta del Sevino (2,916 m) between it and Pizzo Quadro. It is a well-formed pyramid with ridges running almost exactly north, south, east and west; the south-east and south-west sides fall in rock walls about 400 m high, the north-west flank is steep and rocky, and the north-east side is mostly scree. The Truzzo reservoir lies below it to the south-east.

From the Swiss side the peak is very inaccessible: Mesocco lies more than 2,200 m below, and the approaches through the Gesena and Geseneta valleys are long and largely pathless (T5, II). The usual approach is therefore from Italy: from Starleggia above Campodolcino to the Bivacco del Servizio, then the blue-and-white marked north ridge (WS-/T4, I). An alternative from the Valle del Drogo passes the CAI Como's Rifugio Carlo Emilio.

Expect solitude, loose rock and long scree slopes rather than difficult climbing. The route-finding, the scale of the ascent and the frequent cloud are the main challenges.

Climbing Notes

Aim for good fitness and solid experience on rough, unmarked alpine terrain: the normal route has 1,400–1,600 m of ascent, much of it on scree, with easy scrambling (I) on the north ridge. Most parties spend a night at the Bivacco del Servizio (9 places, unstaffed; bring a stove, food and a sleeping bag) and climb the summit early the next morning.

Carry a map and GPS track: the scree between the bivouac and the Bocchetta del Sevino is hard to follow in fog, and cloud is common. Before the col, take the summit route rather than the signed 'via facile', which crosses to the Italian side and passes well below the top. The direct lower north ridge is harder (II).

Without public transport above Campodolcino, a car is the practical way to reach Starleggia. The best period is July to September; in early summer snow may lie on the north-facing scree and an ice axe and crampons can be useful.

History

First recorded ascent on 10 June 1892 by Ludwig Darmstädter with Georg and Johann Stabeler, a traverse: up the south ridge to the west shoulder and the west ridge, down the north ridge. Darmstädter described the area as a 'forgotten excursion district' of the Swiss Alpine Club in the DÖAV Zeitschrift of 1893.


Season

Best Aug–Sep
  1. January: Not advisable
  2. February: Not advisable
  3. March: Not advisable
  4. April: Not advisable
  5. May: Not advisable
  6. June: Possible
  7. July: Good
  8. August: Best (best window)
  9. September: Best (best window)
  10. October: Possible
  11. November: Not advisable
  12. December: Not advisable
Jan
Winter; remote and avalanche-prone
Feb
Winter conditions
Mar
Winter conditions
Apr
Spring snow
May
Snow on the upper route
Jun
Old snow on the scree and ridge
Jul
Snow patches early in the month; thunderstorms
Aug
Usually snow-free
Sep
Good conditions; fog possible
Oct
Short days, early snow
Nov
Winter conditions
Dec
Winter conditions

Access & Permits

Rules
  • Driving ban on the road above Starleggia from a barrier at about 1,640 m
Getting There

Campodolcino (Italy); Mesocco (Switzerland)

Milan Malpensa (MXP) or Milan Linate (LIN)

  • Rail to Chiavenna (change at Colico from Milan), then bus to Campodolcino
  • No public transport from Campodolcino to Starleggia; taxi or a 2-hour, 500 m walk
  • Car: SS36 to Campodolcino, then the narrow road to Starleggia and the barrier at about 1,640 m

Hazards

  • Rockfall
  • Remoteness
  • Weather
  • Exposure

Huts & Shelters

1
Researched from 7 sourcesConfidence72%UnreviewedUpdated 8 Oct 2026
Sources & Caveats
  • merged with Wikidata/OSM names
  • Natural Earth 10m point-in-polygon + 300 m border buffer; Wikidata P17 countries whose border is within 5 km
  • Few sources: the route description relies mainly on one detailed 2024 hikr.org report, with Camptocamp and OSM for the col, bivouac and summit.; Bivacco del Servizio elevation is given as 2,584 m (OSM) and 2,591 m (hikr); its CAI Valle Spluga web page returned no content, so its equipment and status were not confirmed.; No published total ascent time was found; Camptocamp gives about 3 hours from Rifugio Carlo Emilio to the summit.; Summit elevation is sometimes given as 3,024 m, 3,026 m or 3,027 m; the skeleton value 3,025 m is kept.
  • normalizeGrade of the easiest researched route
  • OSM states 3024 m
  • coordinates: 1 osm
  • Kirmse analysis gives 668 m (raw GLO-30 627 m)
  • P4552 chain
  • 90% OSM trail graph, 0% short gaps between OSM fragments, 8% DEM least-cost, 0% straight (approx)
  • elevation from copernicus_glo30