Available trips
| Sat 17th Apr 10
- Sat 24th Apr 10 |
8 Days |
| Klemen Gričar | £ 1050 |
| Last Few Places | |
Skill: ****
The terrain in the Bernina Alps is highly glaciated, steep and rugged! Participants must be accomplished off-piste skiers
capable of skiing safely and efficiently on steep slopes and in all kinds of snow conditions.
Previous ski mountaineering experience is essential, you must have good skinning technique, kick-turns, experience of using
crampons and ice axe and walking/climbing uphill with your ski's on your rucksack.
Group size is limited to 3 with 1 guide.
Stamina: ****
The advanced level ski tours are nearly all hut-to-hut. Typical ascents each day are between 800 - 1200m, 4 - 6hrs of uphill
ski touring with some walking/climbing involved. You will be carrying a pack weighing 7-10kgs with all you need for the week in
it, so physical fitness, stamina and endurance is very important.
Participants need to be working on their fitness well in advance of the tour with lots of aerobic exercise, stamina and endurance training to get the most from these trips.
Piz Bernina is the crown jewel overlooking the Engardine Valley and after Mont Blanc has the most independent elevation in the alps (from valley to summit). Despite the proximity to St Moritz, the area is one of the more isolated and quieter areas of the Eastern Alps. This tour takes in some spectacular glaciated scenery and has some big days out at altitude.
Itinerary
Day 1
Travel to Silvaplana - just south of St Moritz. Meet up with your guide in the evening for welcome meeting and kit check.
Stay overnight in a hotel next to the Corvatsch liftstation.
Day 2
We ascend using the cable car from Surlej-Silvaplana to Piz Corvatsch (3305m). The descent takes us down to Lago de
Rosegand where we pop our skins on. Then a gentle one hour skin takes us to the Coaz hut (2610m). We spend two nights here
having views down towards Potresina and up towards Piz Bernina.
Day 3
A day tour from the Coaz hut. A three to four hour skin takes to the summit of Il Chapütschin (3386m) or Piz Glüschaint
(3594m) via the Roseg glacier. From the summits you get a great vista of whats to come. Return to the Coaz hut for a second
night.
Day 4
A longer day from the Coaz-Hütte across the Vadret de la Sella and up to the summit of Piz Roseg (3921m). We descend and
cross the Passo Sella and down to the Rifugio Marinelli (2813 m) a larger hut and popular access point to Piz Palu and Piz
Bernina.
Day 5
The first of 2 big days! A very early start across the Vedretta di Scerscen accesses the exposed Rifugio Marco-e-Rosa
where we leave our skis and ascend to the summit (condition dependant) of Piz Bernina(4049m). This allows an awesome views of
the Eastern alps and a 1250m descent back to the Rifugio Marinelli.
Day 6
Big day part 2! We Traverse Piz Palu. From the Rifugio Marinelli we ascend the Passo di Sasso Rosso (3510m) and then onto
Piz Palü (3901m) The decent is in complicated glacial terrain with a real atmospheric feel. We Pass Piz Trovetto and on to the
Diavolezza-Haus (2973m)
Day 7
A contingency day with lots of options depending on conditions. This could include ascents of Piz Arlas and Cambrena. To
finish we ski the long descent to the valley and travel back by bus to Silvaplana (journey time about 75 minutes).
Day 8
Disperse after breakfast
This is just a sample itinerary and may change at the discretion of the guide depending on weather and ground conditions.
Additional Information
Price
The price includes 6 full days guiding fees & expenses, 2 nights HB hotel accommodation (twin rooms), 5 nights HB
accommodation in high alpine huts
The price does not include equipment hire, personal insurance, travel to/from St Moritz, uplift costs, local transfers,
lunches and beverages
Accommodation and meals
You will spend the first and the last night in a hotel in Silvaplana.
The rest of the time is spent in traditional alpine huts which all serve breakfast and evening meals.
It is possible to leave your luggage in Silvaplana whilst you are in the mountain huts as you will return there for the
final night.
Group Size
This is a challenging ski mountaineering week and so we limit the guide ratio to 1:3.
Equipment
Check out our
recommended ski touring kit list.
Skins, Ski crampons, boot crampons, harness, ice-axe are all essential for this tour.
Getting there
The nearest airports are Friedrichshafen, Innsbruck and Zurich. Journey time from Zurich to Silvaplana is between 4 and 4
1/2 hours with changes usually required in Zurich Hbf, Chur and St Moritz.
The journey time from Friedrichshafen and Innsbruck is between 4 and 6 hours.
Click on
www.sbb.ch for train timetables.
Insurance
It is a condition of booking that you are insured for ski touring covering personal accident, rescue and third party
risks. You are strongly advised also to take out cover against cancellation and curtailment.
If you are looking to purchase insurance for your trip we recommend
SNOWCARD. They specialise in travel insurance for adventure sports particularly skiing
and snowboarding. Their rates for both single trip and annual policies are very competitive.
For details on their policies and to get a quote CLICK HERE or contact our office for further details.