Roccia Nera
4,075 m
Switzerland, Italy
Also known as Schwarzfluh, Rocher Noir, +1Also known as
Schwarzfluh · Rocher Noir · როჩია-ნერა
- Elevation
- 4,075 m
- Prominence
- 20 m
- Difficulty
- 4/10
- Alpine hike
- Best Season
- Jun–Jul
- Routes
- 2
Routes
2Sources differ: F (Camptocamp)
A glacier traverse from the Klein Matterhorn lift across the Breithorn plateau and below the Breithorn's south faces, then a 200 m snow or ice ramp of up to 40–45° on the south-west flank to a corniced summit ridge. About 2½ hours up; harder than Breithorn West because of the crevasses and the steep final slope.
About <1% of this line is approximate (no mapped trail; drawn from the terrain). Check it against a map before relying on it.
Why? 2 check notes
- ascent 454 m is 1.8× the net gain 250 m: the line probably detours down and back up (not a traverse)
- waypoints not on the route line: Breithornpass (222 m off the trail)
Elevation Profile
- Distance
- 4.8 km
- one way
- Ascent
- +454 m
- −204 m lost on the way up
- High Point
- 4,075 m
- Time Up
- 2h 31m
- DIN 33466
- Time Down
- 2h 11m
- DIN 33466 · same way back
From the Klein Matterhorn top station (about 3,820 m), or from Testa Grigia (3,480 m) on the Italian side, cross the Breithorn plateau to the Breithornpass (Colle del Breithorn). Leave the busy track to Breithorn West on the left and descend about 100 m east onto the upper Verra Glacier, then traverse below the Central and East Breithorn towards the Roccia Nera, ignoring tracks that climb left to the Breithorn East or drop right towards the Guide d'Ayas hut. The traverse is crevassed, and the track is re-made through the season. It ends at the foot of the south-west slope below the Rossi-Volante bivouac, which stands on a rock spur at about 3,750 m; Camptocamp gives about 1½ hours from the lift to the bivouac. Climb the broad snow ramp, gentle at first and then about 40° for some 200 m (45° in some seasons and often icy late in summer), to the summit ridge. Turn right and keep a few metres below the crest, which carries cornices over the north face, to the summit, a short horizontal snow crest at 4,075 m. Allow about 1 hour from the bivouac. Descend the same way and reverse the traverse, with about 250 m of re-ascent to the Breithorn plateau, in time for the last cable car. Many parties sleep at the bivouac or the Guide d'Ayas hut and combine the Roccia Nera with the Breithorn twin, Pollux or the Breithorn traverse.
Start
Klein Matterhorn3,825 m
- Zermatt–Trockener Steg–Klein Matterhorn (Matterhorn Glacier Paradise) cable cars; or Breuil-Cervinia–Plan Maison–Testa Grigia
- Train to Zermatt via Visp (or shuttle train from Täsch), then the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise cable cars to Klein Matterhorn; from Italy, bus to Breuil-Cervinia and cable cars to Testa Grigia.
Stages
| Day | Stage | km | m ascent | m descent | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Klein Matterhorn → Roccia Nera | 4.8 | 454 | 204 | 2h 31m |
Waypoints
- Lift: Klein Matterhorn3,825 m
- Col: Breithornpass3,805 m
not on route line
- Bivouac: Bivacco Rossi e Volante3,775 m
The south-west slope starts just beside the bivouac's rock spur
- Summit: Roccia Nera4,075 m
Key Passages
- Crevassed traverse of the upper Verra Glacier below the Breithorn
- 40–45° south-west snow/ice ramp (about 200 m)
- Corniced summit ridge
Equipment
0/8 packedDownloads
Route confidence 80%Overview
Roccia Nera (4,075 m) is the easternmost summit of the Breithorn massif, a dark north-facing rock prow above the Schwarztor on the Swiss–Italian border. Its normal route is a crevassed glacier traverse from the Klein Matterhorn lift and a 40° snow ramp to a corniced summit crest.
Roccia Nera ('black rock'; Schwarzfluh in German, Rocher Noir in French) ends the 4 km Breithorn ridge to the east, above the Porta Nera or Schwarztor col (about 3,730 m), which separates it from Pollux. The name comes from the steep, dark rock wall it shows to the north and east above the Schwarz Glacier. The south-west side, by contrast, is an open snow slope above the upper Verra Glacier, and that is the line of the normal route. With only about 20 m of prominence it is a subsidiary top of the Breithorn, but it is on the UIAA list of 4,000 m summits.
The normal route is the natural next step after Breithorn West: the same lift and plateau, then a longer and more crevassed traverse below the Breithorn's south faces and a steeper finish, about 200 m at 40–45° that is often icy later in summer. The summit is a short snow crest corniced on the north side. From the Klein Matterhorn lift it is a half-day outing for fit, acclimatised parties.
Roccia Nera is also the starting point of the classic east–west Breithorn traverse, and the small Rossi-Volante bivouac at its foot is a popular base for that traverse and for Pollux. On the Italian side it is often climbed from the Guide d'Ayas hut on a multi-day traverse of the Monte Rosa 4,000ers.
Climbing Notes
Suitable for climbers with roped glacier experience and crevasse-rescue skills who are comfortable on 40–45° snow and ice with crampons and an axe. It is a step up from Breithorn West: the traverse is longer and more crevassed, and the ramp can be bare ice. Novices should go with a guide; Zermatt, Cervinia and Ayas guides lead it regularly, often with Pollux.
Do not go straight from the valley to 3,800 m and then push on to 4,000 m without acclimatising; a night at altitude (Testa Grigia, the Guide d'Ayas hut or the bivouac) helps. In a day from Zermatt, take the first lift, allow about 1½ hours to the bivouac and an hour to the summit, and leave plenty of time for the return traverse and the reascent to the Breithorn plateau before the last cable car. Keep off the cornices on the summit ridge.
History
No reliable record of the first ascent was found. The first east–west traverse of the Breithorn ridge in 1884 (J. Stafford Anderson with Ulrich Almer and Aloys Pollinger) bypassed Roccia Nera on its south side. The harder faces were climbed by Aosta Valley guides in the mid-20th century: SummitPost lists the east wall (Frachey and Crespi, 1941), the north-east spur (Frachey and Serbelloni, 1952) and the south-east wall (Carrel and Muzio, 1954). The Rossi-Volante bivouac at its foot was first built in 1961 and is named after Giorgio Rossi and Cesare Volante, members of CAI Torino who died on an expedition to Nepal in 1963; it was replaced in 1995 and renovated in 2022.
Season
Best Jun–Jul- January: Not advisable
- February: Not advisable
- March: Possible
- April: Good
- May: Good
- June: Best (best window)
- July: Best (best window)
- August: Good
- September: Good
- October: Possible
- November: Not advisable
- December: Not advisable
- Jan
- Winter; very cold
- Feb
- Winter conditions
- Mar
- Ski ascents possible to the foot of the ramp
- Apr
- Ski-mountaineering season; Guide d'Ayas hut open from mid-April
- May
- Spring snow; crevasses well bridged
- Jun
- Good snow on the ramp; Guide d'Ayas hut reopens around 20 June
- Jul
- Main season
- Aug
- Open crevasses on the Verra Glacier; ramp often icy
- Sep
- Quieter; icy ramp; huts close mid-September
- Oct
- Huts closed (bivouac always open); early snow
- Nov
- Winter conditions
- Dec
- Winter conditions
Access & Permits
- Hut Booking
- Rifugio Guide della Val d'Ayas: Società delle Guide di Champoluc-Ayas (+39 0125 307294). Rifugio Ottorino Mezzalama: CAI Torino. The Rossi-Volante bivouac cannot be reserved.
- Fees
- Matterhorn Glacier Paradise cable car (Zermatt–Klein Matterhorn) or Breuil-Cervinia–Testa Grigia cable car ticket
- Bivacco Rossi e Volante: overnight fee paid in cash at the bivouac (amount not verified for the current season)
- Rules
- Zermatt is car-free: park in Täsch and take the shuttle train
- Bivacco Rossi e Volante cannot be booked; places are first come, first served
- Getting There
Zermatt (Switzerland); Breuil-Cervinia or Champoluc (Italy)
Geneva (GVA) or Zurich (ZRH) for Zermatt; Turin (TRN) or Milan Malpensa (MXP) for the Italian side
- Zermatt: train via Visp; by car, park in Täsch and take the shuttle train. Matterhorn Glacier Paradise cable cars to Klein Matterhorn (about 3,820 m)
- Breuil-Cervinia: train to Châtillon-Saint-Vincent and bus; cable cars via Plan Maison to Testa Grigia (3,480 m)
- Val d'Ayas: train to Verrès, bus towards Champoluc; road to Saint-Jacques (1,689 m), with a 4WD taxi part of the way to Pian di Verra
Hazards
- Glacier
- Crevasses
- Cornices
- Altitude
- Weather
Huts & Shelters
3- 3,036 m
Rifugio Ottorino MezzalamaRefugeStaffed
About mid-June to end of September, and spring ski-touring season
- 3,420 m
Rifugio Guide della Val d'AyasRefugeStaffed
80 beds · About 15 April – 20 May and 20 June – 15 September; winter room with 16 places
- 3,750 m
Bivacco Rossi e VolanteBivouacUnstaffed
10 beds · Always open, unstaffed; renovated 2022