Piz Morteratsch in spring

From Pontresina we walked the long, peaceful Val Roseg up to Tschiervahütte.  If you plan on returning this way, do yourself a favor and take a bicycle from Pontresina to Roseg, hide it in the forest, and enjoy the ride back down later.  

The winter room of the Tschiervahütte was full with 10 people, including my party of 4.  There are bunks for 8 people, but with double mattresses that can be separated and thrown on the ground for extra spots.  I slept under the tables.  There was plenty of firewood for the stove and a few things in the cupboard: sugar, bouillon, pasta, etc.

We woke up late at 5:20 and were out the door by around 6.  It had snowed about 2 mm, but was still cold enough to be frozen, so slipping on rocks wasn't an issue.  We hiked up the normal route (as indicated by signs) and the chains on the small rock wall were easy to ascend.  Everything was covered in snow from about 3000m or so - not too deep, some parts quite shallow, and very easy to walk on.  Gaiters and crampons obviously necessary.  We brought snowshoes but never used them.  We made it to ~3260m on the glacier in about two hours and split - two of us went to Piz Tischierva; myself and Ale to Piz Moteratsch.  

Ale and I stayed just west of the rock ridge (part of Fuorcla de Bovcal).  Snow was quite deep, but manageable just next to the rock face.  We made it to the ridge and were buffeted by strong winds, so we made a South-Southwest heading 20m or so under the ridge.  Sliding didn't seem to be likely, but we tried to avoid steeper sections.  We then crossed the ridge and headed South-Southeast, following ski tracks and traversing some way.  There is a large serac/icefall above a short section.  Just after this, we began a zig-zag ascent to the Southwest.  There were one or two crevasses that were quite hidden in the snow and precaution is needed.  Thankfully, we saw them and were able to avoid or cross safely.  Even at the top there are some smaller crevasses that will swallow your leg.  We made it to the ridge, where the snow became mostly hardpack and a little bit of ice, and followed it south to the peak where rocks poked out the top.

The view is incredible.  That's all I got to say about that.

We followed a similar way down back to the hut, took a rest, and continued down the same route back to Pontresina.  Val Roseg is an absolute foot-eater after a long day.  If you brought a bicycle, you'll be laughing all the way back to the village.  If the Kiosk is closed, the pizza joint just across the street offers take away pizza (very fast! ~6 minutes) and large bottles of Calanda (58cL).