Piz Bernina & Piz Palü

Pontresina Berg Tal
Piz Palü Pontresina
Sewing machines, panorama train journeys, sports’ gear providers and even a railway route (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) carry the name. The Piz Bernina (at 4049 metres above sea level) is a star in the Engadin, and even more than that. The sole four-thousand-metre peak in the Eastern Alps is also known as the "King of the Mountains".

The Piz Bernina - King of the Mountains

It was long considered unconquerable - until Johann Wilhelm Coaz completed the first ascent on 13 September 1850, and finally reached the summit in the evening. "Grave feelings gripped us," he later noted in his diary about this moment. "The eager eye swept over the earth to the far horizon and a thousand and a thousand mountain peaks lay around us, rising rocky from shining glacial seas. We gazed in amazement and trepidation at this magnificent mountain world."

Biancograt Piz Bernina

Biancograt

It enthuses mountaineers. The Biancograt stretching like a white ribbon across the massive colossus up towards its summit. This feature is also known as the "Ladder to Heaven".

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The Piz Palü - most beautiful glacial mountain in the world

What an imposing sight this is. It has three peaks and four embedded hanging glaciers. The Palü is considered one of the most beautiful glacial mountains in the world. But, the 3,901 metre high mountain in the Bernina Massif Group is not easy to climb. The crevasse-filled approach over the Pers Glacier, for example can only be mastered with crampons, ice axes and ropes. The pillars and the hanging glaciers in front also pose a challenge to tourers. Those who reach the summit here will be enthusiastic about their triumph for the rest of their lives. Tourers who seek achieve this goal can obtain support from the Pontresina Mountaineering School. The Team there knows the routes to the top very well, and provides s guided tours, privately or in groups.

Towards the Palü