Piz Morteratsch, 3741m

Day 1 of a 3-day trip that included Biancograt on Day 2 and Piz Palu Traverse on Day 3.

Did the Morteratsch with Roger, my Swiss rock-climbing partner. This was his very first hochtour after doing a glacier course a few days ago. I knew that his climbing, aerobic, and mental fitness are all pretty good, at least better than mine, so I felt Morteratsch would be a good route for him to mark his debut into mountaineering.

2 hour hike from Morteratsch train station to Boval hutte where we stayed the previous night, had a sound sleep and woke up for breakfast at 4:30 am. We started off around 5:30 am. The route is well-marked as described here. The first 1-2 hours is a T2 hike followed by some steep scree. Then follow the red dots/markings on the mostly grade I/II climbs with lots of bolts/metal stakes dotting the way until Fourcla de Boval 3347m. There were 1-2 points on slabby rock where I hesitated, otherwise it seemed like a straightforward scramble. We did this unroped.

At the Fourcla de Boval we roped up and wore crampons and entered the snow. Actually at this time of year, the first 100-200m length is bare iced. Although not too steep, it felt tricky. Had it been a bit more icy, we would have had to use ice-screws and belay! But we managed it by treading cautiously. The rest of the snow climb is straightforward, followed existing tracks to the summit. Took some pics, especially Biancograt on which we could see a dozen climbers crawling up like ants!

The ascent had taken us 4:30 hrs. We descended to Tcheirva hut rather fast in 2 hours. Descent is simple: retrace the path to Fourca de Boval; from there just follow the track on the glacier till you see a small lake (pond of water) on the right, exit the glacier there and hike down (T3/T4) to the Tscheirva hut.