Piz Cagniel (2975 m) - hike from Radons

Piz Cagniel (2975 m) is a rather unknown peak between Usser Wissberg and Piz Forbesch. Until now there was only one single hikr report for this mountain. In the maps from before 2015, the height was shown as 2970 m. However, as noted by ivo66, this is not the highest point. Current online maps show that the summit is 2975 m high and located nearly 150 m northeast of P.2970.

Start of the hike in Radons around 8:30 AM in bright sunshine and with blue skies. However, the first two hours of the hike I spent mainly in the shade. I initially followed the wrw marked trail going up through Val Curtegns (T2). At elevation 2100 m (right below Piz Forbesch), I headed up the gully or couloir as described here by ivo66 (T3+). Where the gully splits in two, it is important to head up on the right hand side.

Further up the terrain becomes less steep, but then comes the struggle with the loose scree and dirt. Hiking in the seemingly endless scree up towards Fuorcla Cagniel, I had the feeling it typically went two steps forward and one step backwards, so it was pretty strenuous. Difficulty T3.

From Fuorcla Cagniel I tried to hike just below the rock wall at the right hand side, but in the loose scree I drifted further down towards a snowfield, which I then used for part of the ascent. Further up towards Piz Cagniel it becomes less steep, before it gets steeper again, especially just before reaching the NE ridge. Overall difficulty T4.

On the NE ridge itself the main difficulties are two somewhat exposed climbing spots. Difficulty hiking T5-, climbing I. Shortly before the summit, the terrain becomes nearly flat. The cairn which ivo66 built seven years ago was a bit damaged, so I tried to fix it.

Next, I headed for P.2970. Between the summit of Piz Cagniel (2975 m) and P.2970 (which was considered the summit on maps from before 2015), it is necessary to leave the ridge and make a detour in the east flank (T4+). The main reason for the detour is a 3-4 m vertical drop on the ridge. Climbing is not an option, cause the rocks are either loose or brittle. At P.2970 I took a 45 min break, enjoying my lunch and the great view! Down in the east flank I also spotted a male ibex, but it was quite far away.

For the descent, I initially followed the same route, but I did not go across Fuorcla Cagniel. Instead I crossed the ridge west of the Fuorcla as shown here (T4-). Further down I descended through a short but steep couloir (T4-, and then across the grassy hillside (T3) (see photo). After I got down to Val Curtegns, I followed wrw marked trail back to Radons.

Equipment:
- Hiking sticks - extremely helpful in the loose scree and dirt!
- Ice axe (not used)

Remarks:
- Please see the attached GPS track for more details on the route.
- There were just a few hikers on the marked trail Val Curtegns, but I did not meet anyone on my off trail scree adventure to the summit of Piz Cagniel.
- Included in the time given for this hike are breaks with a total time of 1 hour.