Overview
Piz Languard(16-07-2009)
Piz Languard is a wellknown hiking summit - consequently you will not be alone. This peaks stands high above the village of
Pontresina and east of it. Piz Languard has a “first - row - position” in front of the
Bernina range and offers first class views into the valley of Morteratsch and the surrounding “gems” of Bernina:
Piz Cambrena,
Piz Palü,
Bellavista,
Piz Zupo,
Piz Argient,
Crast´Agüzza,
Piz Bernina with a good view of the
Bianco arete,
Piz Prievlusa,
Piz Morteratsch and
Piz Tschierva.
The Val Languard region is a region for easy hiking and many holiday people use the
cableway up to Alp Languard to save some 500 m of altitude difference.
I recommend
not to do so. The way up through the woods is cool in the morning and beautiful. I will describe a sort of
loop route from and back to Pontresina railway station which is a satisfying day hiking job with great views, partly lonely trails and a good training unit (1550 m of altitude difference).
Panorama of the Bernina range / Morteratsch valley, as seen from the Paradis ridge (16-07-2009) |
Getting There
Piz Albris and Lej da Languard (16-07-2009)
Starting point is
Pontresina railway station. There are several parking areas around the station (fee required). Inside the village you cannot park your car if not lodging there!
Pontresina in the upper Engadin valley can be reached by car by using the swiss road
number 27 from lower Engadin valley (and
Landeck / Austria) or the
number 3, 27 and 29 from Chur via Julierpass and Sankt Moritz.
Road number 29 comes from
Italy / Val Tellina and via Berninapass.
The
Rhätische Bahn (local railway company) brings you to Pontresina from Chur or Davos.
Route Description
Piz Languard (16-07-2009)
The trail starts at Pontresina railway station. Use the road which leads up to the town and choose the right hand ascending road after having passed a bridge. When you arrive at
Via Maistra, the main road, cross it and follow the signposts to the church
Santa Maria, an old and beautiful
medieval church, which is fully painted inside (13th / 15 th century) and absolutely worth a visit.
In front of the graveyard take the right hand trail (the “
Roentgen trail”), which soon zigzags steeply up the woods. After a nice hike through the woods and alongside a little creek you reach the meadows of the
Alp Languard with the first beautiful views of Piz Palü. At Alp Languard there is a connecting trail to the mountain station of the
Languard cableway (descend trail of this route).
Follow the
right trail over the Languard creek on a
footbridge and start climbing the ridge in front of you. This ridge leads to
Chamanna Paradis and the ridge and the little hut (only food, no lodging) is a
real paradise with breathtaking views to the Bernina range / Morteratsch region.
At Chamanna Paradis follow the
left hand trail which leads down into
Languard valley. It is a 80 m descend until you reach a trail junction. Take again the
right hand trail which soon crosses the creek by using some large boulders and starts ascending the meadows up to a rockwall which separates the lower from the upper southwest slopes of Languard valley.
Waterfall at the Piz Languard ascent (16-07-2009)
The trail overcomes the rockwall with some switchbacks and easy scrambling and reaches upper meadows. There is another trail junction which can easily be missed when there is a lot of snow: the right trail leads to
Fuorcla Pischa, the
left hand trail is our trail.
It ascends to the
panorama trail which traverses high above Languard valley the whole southwest slope of
Piz Muragl,
Piz Clüx,
Piz Languard and
Crasta Languard.
Follow this trail to the right until you reach another trail junction. Here the steep
summit trail starts and ascends through rocks and scree / talus up a steep valley. Then it zigzags up on the northwest side of the mountain through scree and then over huge boulders and talus fields until it reaches the summit hut (
Chamanna Georgy, food and lodging).
If you don´t like huzzle and buzzle on mountains, leave this hut where it is and follow the summit trail up to the nearby summit. The trail uses the steep and rocky
southwest ridge of the summit and is partly secured with fixed ropes. It is a nice and easy rock scramble and soon enough you are standig on the Languard summit with its breathtaking views, from
Bernina,
Albula and northern swiss mountains to
Ötztal range,
Silvretta Mountains,
Ortler group and
Livigno and
Valtellina mountains.
Summit panorama of Piz Languard |
For your
decent follow the
summit trail down to the
panorama trail and follow the panorama trail down to a trail junction, where the panorama trail to
Chamanna Segantini branches off to the right. The
left trail descends high above Languard valley to the mountain station of the
Languard cableway with a nice restaurant, called Steinbock hut.
Piz Languard, panorama trail, view to Piz Albris (16-07-2009)
If you don´t want to go down by cableway, there are two trails to descend to Pontresina by foot:
Mountain Conditions & Essential Gear
Bernina group from Piz Languard descent (16-07-2009)
This route is a summer and autumn route. Parts of it can be done in winter / spring with skies, too.
Normal hiking gear is sufficient in general. In early summer there will be still snow lingering on the upper parts of the route. So sometimes crampons and walking poles (or even an ice axe) can be useful under such conditions.