Piz Corvatsch | |
Photo Size: | 285 |
Elevation M: | 3451 |
Prominence M: | 383 |
Prominence Ref: | [1] |
Isolation Km: | 5.2 |
Isolation Ref: | [2] |
Listing: | Alpine mountains above 3000 m |
Parent Peak: | Piz Bernina |
Translation: | Crow (or raven) peak |
Location: | Graubünden, Switzerland |
Range: | Bernina Range |
Map: | Switzerland |
Coordinates: | 46.4083°N 9.8161°W |
First Ascent: | 1850 by Johann Coaz and party[3] |
Easiest Route: | From the Corvatsch station |
Piz Corvatsch is a mountain in the Bernina Range of the Alps, overlooking Lake Sils and Lake Silvaplana in the Engadin region of the canton of Graubünden. With an elevation of 3451m (11,322feet), it is the highest point on the range separating the main Inn valley from the Val Roseg. Aside from Piz Corvatsch, two other slightly lower summits make up the Corvatsch massif: Piz Murtèl (3433m (11,263feet); north of Piz Corvatsch) and the unnamed summit where lies the Corvatsch upper cable car station (3303m (10,837feet); north of Piz Murtèl). Politically, the summit of Piz Corvatsch is shared between the municipalities of Sils im Engadin/Segl and Samedan, although the 3,303 m high summit lies between the municipalities of Silvaplana and Samedan. The tripoint between the aforementioned municipalities is the summit of Piz Murtèl.
Several glaciers lie on the east side on the massif. The largest, below Piz Corvatsch, is named Vadret dal Murtèl. The second largest, below Piz Murtèl and the station, is named Vadret dal Corvatsch.
The Corvatsch cable car starts above the village of Surlej, east of Silvaplana and culminates at 3,298 m. From there, the summit of Piz Corvatsch can be reached by traversing Piz Murtèl. In winter and spring, the mountain is part of a ski area, which is amongst the highest in Switzerland and the Eastern Alps.
Piz Corvatsch has an alpine tundra climate (ET) with long, cold winters lasting most of the year and a brief period during summer where the average daily highs rise above freezing.