Piz Languard Main Hiking Routes

Overview

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

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

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.



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.



If you don´t want to go down by cableway, there are two trails to descend to Pontresina by foot:

Left of the cableway to Alp Languard and the ascent trail through the woods (Roentgen trail);

Right of the cableway steeply down the wood slopes above Pontresina. This trail ends, too, at the Santa Maria church at Pontresina.

If you want to extend you panoramic walk, continue on the panoramic trail by following the signpost to Chamanna Segantini. With some more ups and downs this trail traverses the southwest slopes of Piz Clüx and Piz Muragl and the rock slopes of Las Suors (which can be easily climbed from Chamanna Segantini).
Before you reach Chamanna Segantini there is a zigzag trail leading down to Pontresina. Thus you arrive at the northern part of Via Maistra. At Hotel Saratz there is a road leading down to the railway station.

Mountain Conditions & Essential Gear

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.

Images

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