Piz Bernina

Ascent through Val Roseg to the Tschierva hut

At two o'clock sharp in the morning, the alarm clock wakes us, Fritz and Teja, from our sleep - the start of a long day. Still a little sleepy, we shoulder our heavy backpacks in Pontresina and set off in the pitch dark. Our plan is to climb Piz Bernina via the Biancograt. In addition to a climbing rope, climbing and glacier equipment, we also have our paragliders in our luggage to make the arduous descent fly by. The weather forecast predicts a hot, windless summer's day - actually perfect conditions for our adventure. However, the cross-regional wind is supposed to blow slightly in the wrong direction, which we would need for the start from the glacier. In addition, the valley winds increase significantly in the afternoon. So if we take too long, the take-off could quickly turn into a nail-biter.

The path leads into the idyllic Val Roseg, the shadows of the trees flitting past in the glow of the headlamps. After around 12 kilometers and 800 metres in altitude, we reach the Tschierva hut - fill up with water, quickly put in a bar and off we go. The hut guests who have their sights set on the Biancograt today are already far gone at this point, and we can only make out the headlamps of individual groups in the distance.

Biancograt - Off into the snow

Before heading onto the spectacular firn ridge, there is one more climbing passage. The climbing sections in the third degree with the heavy backpacks feel as if not only the air is getting thinner, but also the force of gravity is increasing.

But now it's really off into the snow. We bypass the last rock head on the left, then a steep firn flank lies ahead of us. The sun heats up the east side of the ridge in the early morning. A view of the long, striking course of the Biancograt, also known as the "ladder to heaven" to the summit of Piz Bernina, opens up before us. We are lucky with the conditions: A few days ago, around 20 centimetres of snow fell above 3,400 meters, which now covers most of the bare ice on the firn ridge with packed snow. Whether we will be so lucky with the flying conditions, however, still lies with the stars. Everything still looks good, but we are in the extensive lee of the supra-regional wind. And in the mountains, the wind and weather can change faster than you'd like.

Flat sections alternate with steeper passages. Even the easy sections are very exposed and demand your full attention. The steepest sections in the firn reach 45°, but at this altitude we only make slow progress anyway, so we can concentrate on the path. At the end of the firn ridge, the small Piz Alv plateau (3,994 m) opens up, and only a short time later we reach Piz Bianco, the pre-summit of our actual destination.

Summit Push at a snail's pace

The transition from Piz Bianco to Piz Bernina no longer looks far away, but this is deceptive. In fact, climbing sections up to the third degree, exposed traverses, two abseils, the famous Bianco jump and a steep climb in mixed terrain to the summit await us.

After a quick breakfast, we head to the first abseil point. Then we somehow scramble down the Bianco jump without realizing that you can - or perhaps even should - jump it, and climb on to the next rock tower. From here, the last ascent seems dizzyingly steep and exposed. As we climb, however, it turns out to be a fun mixed terrain. The last few meters are done and we are standing on the only four-thousand-metre peak in the Eastern Alps that has long been on both of our bucket lists.

We stand together on the summit - satisfied, exhausted, happy and yet still a little tense as to whether our plan will work out.

From here, Fritz, I take over and tell you how I experienced the way down - from the wintery summit to the summery valley.

As we weren't sure how far out into the valley we could glide, we didn't decide on a specific landing spot. I look for Teja's glider far above the valley floor and find it on a wide plain with a few trees at the end of Val Morteratsch in Val Bernina. Shortly before landing, things get exciting again, the valley wind has become noticeably stronger and behind the treetops it causes slight turbulence.

The landing feels like a liberation: Instead of an endless descent, we have enjoyed a bird's eye view for 20 minutes - a view that shows us the route from a whole new dimension once again. We take our time packing up, lay our soaked clothes in the sun and jump into the ice-cold glacier stream before a kind gentleman drives us back to the parking lot in Pontresina.

At the end of the day, there are around 2,300 meters of altitude, 20 kilometers and 13 hours on the clock - 20 minutes of which we flew out of the valley: just now with our faces stuck in the snow, now back in midsummer.

Conclusion: an awesome ascent, a fantastic tour and an easy descent. We were lucky with the conditions. Without the flight, the tour would have been a torture for us in one day.