| Piz Bernina | |
|---|---|
| Pizzo Bernina (Italian) | |
 Piz Bernina with the Biancograt to the right | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 4,048 m (13,281 ft) |
| Prominence | 2,236 m (7,336 ft)[1] Ranked 5th in the Alps |
| Parent peak | Mont Blanc |
| Isolation | 138 km (86 mi)[2] |
| Listing | Canton high point Ultra |
| Coordinates | 46°22′56″N 9°54′29″E / 46.38222°N 9.90806°E |
| Naming | |
| Language of name | Romansh |
| Geography | |
  Piz Bernina Location  Piz Bernina Piz Bernina (Switzerland)  Piz Bernina Piz Bernina (Italy) | |
| Location | Grisons, Switzerland (massif partially in Italy) |
| Parent range | Bernina |
| Topo map | Swisstopo 1277 Piz Bernina |
| Climbing | |
| First ascent | 13 September 1850 by Johann Coaz guided by Jon and Lorenz Ragut Tscharner |
| Easiest route | rock/ice climb |
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Piz Bernina (Romansh, Italian: Pizzo Bernina, Italian pronunciation: [ˈpittso berˈniːna]) is the highest mountain in the Eastern Alps, the highest point of the Bernina Range, and the highest peak in the Rhaetian Alps.[3] It rises 4,048 m (13,281 ft) and is located south of Pontresina in the Bernina Region and near the major Alpine resort of St. Moritz, in the Engadin valley. It is also the most easterly mountain higher than 4,000 m (13,000 ft) in the Alps, the highest point of the Swiss canton of Grisons, and the fifth-most prominent peak in the Alps. Although the summit lies within Switzerland, the massif is on the border with Italy. The "shoulder" (4,020 m (13,190 ft)) known as La Spedla is the highest point in the Italian Lombardy region.
Piz Bernina is entirely surrounded by glaciers, of which the largest is the Morteratsch Glacier.
The mountain was named after the Bernina Pass in 1850 by Johann Coaz, who also made the first ascent.[4] The prefix Piz comes from the Romansch language of the Grisons; any mountain with that name can be readily identified as being located in southeastern Switzerland.
- ^ Retrieved from the Swisstopo topographic maps. The key col is the Maloja Pass (1,812 m).
- ^ Retrieved from Google Earth. The nearest point of higher elevation is east of the Finsteraarhorn.
- ^ "Piz Bernina". summitpost.org. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
- ^ Collomb, Robin (1988). Bernina Alps. Goring: West Col Productions. p. 55.