Piz Fora is a mountain in the

Bernina Range The Bernina Range is a mountain range in the Alps of eastern Switzerland and northern Italy. It is considered to be part of the Rhaetian Alps within the Central Eastern Alps. It is one of the highest ranges of the Alps, covered with many glaciers ...

(

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

), on the border of

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. The mountain has an elevation of and is the tripoint between the valleys of Val Fedoz, Val Fex (both in Graubünden) and Val Malenco (in

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

Geography

The Sassa di Fora, Piz Fora on CNS, is a massive and complex mountain located centrally on the Alpine chain, between the Valmalenco and Alta Engadina. It forms the final high elevations on the western side, and its summit is towered over by the

Bernina Group The Bernina Range is a mountain range in the Alps of eastern Switzerland and northern Italy. It is considered to be part of the Rhaetian Alps within the Central Eastern Alps. It is one of the highest ranges of the Alps, covered with many glacier ...

; three distinct and slightly inclined ridges. The northwest face of these ridges make up the head of Val Fedoz and is usually by the Vadrec da Fedoz; a great

glacial A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...

plateau below the summit. The northeastern side, also covered with ice, has a steeper incline than the west but face less impressive views, mainly, the Vadret dal Güz and Vadret da Fex which form the western summit of the Val Fex. On the south side lies the most impressive structure of the

, the Gold Pass. From Fuorcla to Chapütsch in the east, it spans 3 km and is more than 600 m high in some areas. Under the steep slopes of the Fora nozzle the only glacial extension of the southern slope is the small glacier, Sassa Fora. Expeditions to the summit of this beautiful mountain begin in Chiareggio in Valmalenco, or from Sils-Maria in the

Engadin The Engadin or Engadine (;This is the name in the two Romansh idioms that are spoken in the Engadin, Vallader and Puter, as well as in Sursilvan and Rumantsch Grischun. In Surmiran, the name is ''Nagiadegna'', and in Sutsilvan, it is ''Gidegna'' ...

. Both routes have similar difficulties and travel times. The southern path has the advantage of being much more scenic and open while also reducing 300 meters in altitude, but it is more complex. In both cases, no footholds ease the long and tiring climb. The trek is appropriate only for well-trained climbers.

Report of the climb

* Top n ° 1846 * Rising slope: SW-W-SW * Difference of ascent: 1800 m - Total: 3600 m * Rise Time: 6.30 h - Total: 11.30 h * Recommended season: Summer

Climb

Ascent

At Chiareggio the road leads to Passo del Muretto. A path shortens the route and partly follows the road to a junction. At this point, a detour leads to the Golden Alpe (q. 2010 m). An alpine pasture offers a panoramic facade of the north, named Accident and Monte del Forno, which briefly follows east leading to Val Nevasco. Continue a hundred meters north, leaving the path, into a sparse forest avoids the rocky prominence and steep slopes above them. At about (q. 2400 m) is Dosso Calvo, plateau pastureland east of the grassy spur. At the highest part of the plateau a grassy rib shape is to the left. It is steep and leads along the ridge of the hill above. The path becomes more evident from there. It turns to the left (W), and then enters into the wall. An easy 100 m channel of broken rocks leads to a logical easy path on the left (I °), in the direction of the now visible Golden step (q. 3083 m), from Furcela Fedoz on the CNS with a difficulty level of F. The pass leads onto the glacier (exhibiting numerous crevasses) losing a few tens of meters in altitude. Crossing towards the north, in the direction of the steep icy slope that connects the bottom of the hanging glacier with the plateau below the summit. The path moves to the right and follows a

serac A serac () (from Swiss French ''sérac'') is a block or column of glacial ice, often formed by intersecting crevasses on a glacier. Commonly house-sized or larger, they are dangerous to mountaineers, since they may topple with little warning. ...

area, with slender bridges of ice and partition walls. The path continues in the direction of the mountain NNW ridge through the crevassed glacier. Next comes the plateau which turns towards the SSE and slopes gently, on a long traverse in the direction of a steep icy chute to the SW ridge. The

bergschrund A bergschrund (from the German for ''mountain cleft''; sometimes abbreviated in English to "schrund") is a crevasse that forms where moving glacier ice separates from the stagnant ice or firn above. It is often a serious obstacle for mountaineer ...

can create serious problems, in most cases, it towers to the right of a providential bridge. The icy slope climb spans up about fifty meters, at about 50/55 °. Crossing requires ice screws. This ends the difficult part of the journey and the broad SW ridge leaning slightly to the right, leads to the summit.

Descent

The

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. ...

is accessible from the top edge of the ice chute by

abseiling Abseiling ( ; ), also known as rappelling ( ; ), is the controlled descent of a steep slope, such as a rock face, by moving down a rope. When abseiling, the person descending controls their own movement down a static or fixed rope, in cont ...

down the chute, continuing along the easy SW crest, passing the first projecting

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

and ending down a shorter icy slope than the rising, further continuing along the SW ridge to the Gold Pass (normal route), using a guide of the CAI / TCI Monti of Italy: Bernina. In any case, the descent continues along the ascent itinerary.

References

External links

Piz Fora on Hikr
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fora Mountains of the Alps Mountains of Graubünden Mountains of Lombardy Alpine three-thousanders Italy–Switzerland border International mountains of Europe Mountains of Switzerland