Pizzo Rotondo
3,192 m
Switzerland
- Elevation
- 3,192 m
- Prominence
- 749 m
- Difficulty
- 5/10
- Easy alpine
- Best Season
- Mar–Apr
- Routes
- 1
Routes
1Sources differ: WS+, 3a (SAC route portal) · AD (hikr.org trip report, July 2012 (climb onto the Passo di Ruino rated ZS/III after glacier retreat)) · III (hikr.org trip report, July 2012 (northernmost gully to the Passo di Ruino))
The easiest and objectively safest way up the highest peak of the Gotthard massif: from All'Acqua in the Val Bedretto past the Capanna Piansecco to the Passo di Rotondo, up loose rock and scree to the Passo di Ruino, then a short ridge scramble (II, short steps of 3a) on partly sound, partly very loose blocks. About 5–6 hours up from the road.
Elevation Profile
approximate line- Distance
- 6.1 km
- one way
- Ascent
- +1,585 m
- start → summit
- High Point
- 3,192 m
- Time Up
- 6h 04m
- DIN 33466
- Time Down
- 3h 58m
- DIN 33466 · same way back
From All'Acqua (1,614 m) a broad, well-built path climbs in about an hour to the Capanna Piansecco (1,988 m). Above the hut take the unmarked path north-east towards the Alpe Nuova, passing east of points 2348 and 2491; the trail fades at about 2,250 m and cairns and traces lead on over scree to the Passo di Rotondo (2,754 m). From the Passo di Rotondo head east over firn and scree to the Passo di Ruino (about 2,945 m), the notch between the Pizzo Rotondo and the Poncione di Ruino. This is the crux in late summer: the firn that once filled the base of the gullies has shrunk, leaving a steeper band of loose rock. The SAC portal warns that it can be delicate once snow-free; a 2012 party rated the northernmost gully ZS/III, found a destroyed old rope there and used their own rope, and reached the pass more easily on the steep moraine scree at its southern end. From the notch follow the south ridge, partly on good rock, partly over loose blocks, turning towers on the east side low down and on the west side higher up, to below the summit fin, which is climbed easily from the west or north (I). SAC gives 4–5 hours and 1,210 m from the hut to the summit and 3–4 hours back. The descent can go down the main couloir of the south-west flank, which starts at the north-west foot of the summit tower, but it is exposed to stonefall once snow-free; then reverse the south ridge to the Passo di Ruino instead and return by the ascent route. The mountain is rarely climbed in summer (about a dozen parties in 2011 according to the summit register), so expect solitude and no trodden line on the upper part.
Start
All'Acqua1,617 m
- Train to Airolo, then the PostBus up the Val Bedretto to All'Acqua (summer service; check the timetable).
- Parking at the trailhead
Stages
| Day | Stage | km | m ascent | m descent | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | All'Acqua → Capanna Piansecco | 2.3 | 375 | 10 | 1h 33m |
| 2 | Capanna Piansecco → Pizzo Rotondo | 3.8 | 1,212 | 0 | 4h 31m |
Waypoints
- Trailhead: All'Acqua1,617 m
PostBus stop and car park (use the parking about 200 m west of the restaurant car park)
- Hut: Capanna Piansecco1,983 m
- Feature: Alpe Nuova2,395 m
Unmarked path ends about 2,250 m; cairns beyond
- Col: Passo di Rotondo2,752 m
- Col: Passo di Ruino2,881 m
Loose rock band below the notch; the crux in late summer
- Summit: Pizzo Rotondo3,192 m
Key Passages
- Rock band below the Passo di Ruino (loose; III in the northernmost gully)
- First step on the south ridge, turned on the east side across a slabby gully
- Summit fin, climbed from the west or north
Equipment
0/6 packedDownloads
Route confidence 66%Overview
At 3,192 m the highest summit of the Gotthard massif, a fin of shattered gneiss above the Val Bedretto. A sought-after ski tour in spring, but rarely climbed in summer, when the normal south ridge (PD+, II) means loose rock and stonefall.
The Pizzo Rotondo stands on the boundary between Ticino and Valais, north of the Val Bedretto and south-east of the Gerental above Oberwald, and is the highest point of the Gotthard massif. Its distinctive summit fin is obvious from Airolo. The Gerengletscher fills the north side; a small glacier, the Ghiacciaio del Pizzo Rotondo, lies below the Passo di Rotondo on the south side. About two kilometres north-east is the Witenwasserenstock, the meeting point of the Rhone, Rhine and Po basins.
The mountain is built of blocks and rubble, and glacier retreat has made it looser in recent decades. In winter and spring it is one of the classic ski summits of the region, reached from All'Acqua, the Capanna Piansecco or the Rotondohütte on the Realp side, with a final 45° couloir climbed on foot. In summer it is largely ignored: the summit register showed only about a dozen parties in 2011.
The summer normal route is the south ridge from the Capanna Piansecco via the Passo di Rotondo and the Passo di Ruino. On paper it is an easy alpine climb (SAC WS+, 3a), but the access to the Passo di Ruino has steepened and become unstable as the firn has shrunk, and trip reports call the rock catastrophic in places. It suits experienced parties who are comfortable moving carefully on loose ground.
Climbing Notes
You need sure-footedness on loose blocks and scree, scrambling up to grade II with short steps of III, and the judgement to move one at a time where the slope is unstable. A helmet is essential. Most parties carry a 30 m rope and a few slings for the climb onto the Passo di Ruino; in early summer crampons and an axe help on the remaining firn. The day is about 5–6 hours up and 4 hours down from All'Acqua, so many parties either start very early or spend a night at the Capanna Piansecco (1,988 m, an hour above the road). Ask the hut keeper about conditions; the Passo di Ruino and the south-west couloir are more stonefall-prone the drier the season. In spring the ski ascent via the south couloir (PD+, 45° over 180 m) needs crampons, an axe and stable snow.
History
First ascent on 5 August 1869 by Viktor Haller with Angelo Beffa and Josef Maria Tresch, from Bedretto over the east face and the now almost vanished Pesciora glacier. Four days later Fridolin Schläpfer with Rudolf Elmer and Johann Kreuzer came up from Oberwald via the Gerental and Gerengletscher to the north summit; only the two guides continued to the slightly higher main summit. The south ridge was first climbed by Josef Eggermann in August 1893.
Season
Best Mar–Apr- January: Possible
- February: Good
- March: Best (best window)
- April: Best (best window)
- May: Good
- June: Possible
- July: Good
- August: Good
- September: Good
- October: Possible
- November: Not advisable
- December: Possible
- Jan
- Ski tour for experienced ski-mountaineers; short days and avalanche risk
- Feb
- Ski season; south couloir climbed on foot with crampons
- Mar
- Main ski-touring season
- Apr
- Main ski-touring season; start early on the south-facing slopes
- May
- Spring snow; late ski tours
- Jun
- Snow lingering on the upper route; hut staffing starts in early summer
- Jul
- Summer route usually snow-free; some firn may help below the Passo di Ruino
- Aug
- Driest rock, but more stonefall as the firn melts out
- Sep
- Stable weather; very loose once fully snow-free
- Oct
- End of the hut season; early snow
- Nov
- Early winter; not advisable
- Dec
- Early-season ski tours only with good snow cover
Access & Permits
- Hut Booking
- Capanna Piansecco CAS: book online via the hut website or by phone (+41 91 869 12 14).
- Fees
- Overnight fee at the Capanna Piansecco if staying
- Getting There
Airolo
Milan Malpensa (MXP) or Zurich (ZRH)
- Train to Airolo (Gotthard line), then the PostBus up the Val Bedretto to All'Acqua (summer service; check the current timetable)
- By car: from Airolo up the Val Bedretto (Nufenen pass road) to All'Acqua; parking about 200 m west of the restaurant car park
Hazards
- Rockfall
- Exposure
- Avalanche
- Weather
- Glacier
Huts & Shelters
1- 1,988 m
Capanna PianseccoHutStaffedBooking required
46 beds · Staffed in summer (dates on the hut website); winter room with 20 places