Central Eastern Alps

Piz Bernina (Romansh, Italian: Pizzo Bernina, Italian pronunciation: [ˈpittso berˈniːna]) is the highest mountain in the Eastern Alps, the highest point of the Bernina Range, and the highest peak in the Rhaetian Alps. It rises 4,048.6 m (13,283 ft) and is located south of Pontresina and near the major Alpine resort of St. Moritz, in the Engadin valley. It is also the most easterly mountain higher than 4,000 m (13,000 ft) in the Alps, the highest point of the Swiss canton of Graubünden, and the fifth-most prominent peak in the Alps. Although the summit lies within Switzerland, the massif is on the border with Italy. The "shoulder" (4,020 m (13,190 ft)) known as La Spedla is the highest point in the Italian Lombardy region. Piz Bernina is entirely surrounded by glaciers, of which the largest is the Morteratsch Glacier. The mountain was named after the Bernina Pass in 1850 by Johann Coaz, who also made the first ascent. The prefix Piz comes from the Romansch language in Graubünden; any mountain with that name can be readily identified as being located in southeastern Switzerland.

The Western Rhaetian Alps (Italian: Alpi Retiche occidentali, German: Westliche Rätische Alpen) are a mountain range in the central part of the Alps.

La Spedla (or Punta Perrucchetti) is a minor summit south of Piz Bernina on the border between Italy and Switzerland. With a height of 4,020 metres above sea level, it is the highest summit on the Italian side of the Bernina Range and the highest summit in Lombardy. Because of its small prominence it was included only in the enlarged list of alpine four-thousanders.

Crast' Agüzza (, known also as Cresta Güzza) (3,869 m) is a mountain in the Bernina Range in Italy and Switzerland. The peak is bounded to the north by the Morteratsch Glacier and to the south by the Upper Scerscen Glacier. To its immediate north-west lies the Fuorcla Crast' Agüzza (3,601 m); according to Collomb, this is 'the most important glacier pass across the central Bernina Alps; comparable in position with Col du Géant in the Mont Blanc range.' The first party to reach the pass (from the north) comprised E. S. Kennedy and J. F. Hardy, with guides Peter and F. Jenny and A. Flury, on 23 July 1861. The first party to traverse the col comprised Francis Fox Tuckett and E. N. Buxton together with guides Peter Jenny, Christian Michel and Franz Biner on 28 July 1864.The usual ascent is made via the rocky east ridge from the Fuorcla da l'Argient. This route was first ascended by Emil Burckhardt with Hans Grass and Peter Egger in August 1874.The mountain is known locally as the Engadin Matterhorn.[1]

Piz Bianco (also known as Piz Alv) is a minor summit north of Piz Bernina, in the Bernina Range of the Alps. It is located south of Pontresina in the canton of Graubünden. Culminating at 3,995 metres, Piz Bianco is the highest point of the snowy ridge named Biancograt (or Crast'Alva). The summit is often traversed by climbers on the way to Piz Bernina.

Piz Scerscen (Romansh, Italian: Monte Scerscen, formerly Monte Rosso di Scerscen), culminating at 3,971 m above sea level, is one of the highest peaks in the Bernina Range, straddling the border between Switzerland and Italy. It is a satellite peak of Piz Bernina, joining it by its north-east ridge via a 3,882 m pass. Its name means 'the circular mountain' ('Scerscen' is pronounced cherchen). The mountain has a prominent secondary summit called the Schneehaube (3,875 m). The first ascent of Piz Scerscen was by Paul Güssfeldt, Hans Grass and Caspar Capat on 13 September 1877 via the north-west spur, descending the same way. This is the well-known Eisnase route, involving a 100-metre ice pitch of between 60 and 70°, although its precise length and steepness are debated.[1] This was the route followed by Walter Risch on the first solo ascent of the mountain in 1924. The first ascent of the north-west face was by Christian Klucker and L. Norman-Neruda on 9 July 1890.

Piz Morteratsch (3,751 m) is a mountain in the Bernina Range in Switzerland. It is bordered on the east by the Morteratsch Glacier and on the south-west by the Tschierva Glacier. One of the easier of the higher mountains in the range to climb, the normal route follows that taken by the first ascentionists C. Brügger and P. Gensler with guides Karl Emmermann and Angelo Klaingutti on 11 September 1858. Three of its ridges present greater difficulties and are highly regarded: South-south-east ridge (D/D+), first ascent P. J. H. Unna with guides, 1903 East-north-east ridge (AD), first ascent of complete ridge, Paul Schucan and A. Pfister, 10 October 1908 (the upper section had been climbed by Max Schintz with guides Alois Pollinger and his son Josef Pollinger of St. Niklaus in the canton Valais in August 1892) South-west ridge, (AD), first ascent by T. H. Philpott and Mrs Philpott with guides Peter Jenny and Alexander Fleury in September 1868The mountain is served by the Boval hut (2,495 m, open 15 March–15 May and 15 June–15 October) and the Tschierva Hut (2,573 m, open end of March–15 May and 15 June–15 October).

Piz Roseg (pronounced as peetse rawzech) is a mountain of the Bernina Range, overlooking the Val Roseg in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. There are two summits on its main ridge: the south-east and higher summit (3,937 m) the north-west summit, known as the Schneekuppe (3,920 m).There is also a prominent top on the east-north-east ridge, called the Roseg Pitschen (3,868 m) (Italian border).

Piz Boval is a mountain of the Bernina Range, located north of Piz Bernina in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. It lies on the ridge that separate the Val Roseg (west) from the valley of the Morteratsch Glacier (east).

The Tschierva Hut (German: Tschiervahütte, Romansh: Chamanna da Tschierva) is a mountain hut located in the Swiss canton of Graubünden at the foot of Piz Bernina, Piz Tschierva and Piz Morteratsch at the end of Val Roseg. The hut lies at 2,584 metres above sea level near the Tschierva Glacier and can be accessed from Pontresina via a trail. The hut is the starting point of the Biancograt, the serpentine north ridge of Piz Bernina. The hut is owned by the Swiss Alpine Club.

The Morteratsch Glacier (Romansh: Vadret da Morteratsch) is the largest glacier by area in the Bernina Range of the Bündner Alps in Switzerland.By area and by volume (1.2 km3), it is the third largerst glacier in the eastern alps, after the Pasterze Glacier and Gepatschferner. The Morteratsch Glacier is a typical valley glacier with a pronounced ice front. The accumulation zone lies between the peaks of Piz Morteratsch, Piz Bernina, Crast' Agüzza, Piz Argient, Piz Zupò and Bellavista. From Piz Argient to the ice front in the Val Morteratsch, its horizontal extent is less than ~6 km (3.7 mi), with an altitude difference of up to 2,000 m (6,600 ft).Together with the Pers Glacier, originating at Piz Palü, which joins the Morteratsch just below the rock formation Isla Persa ("Lost Isle"), as of 1973 it covered an area of about 16 km2 (6.2 sq mi). The volume of the ice is estimated to be about 1.2 km3. The Morteratsch Glacier drains into the Ova da Morteratsch, which eventually flows into the Inn and hence via the Danube into the Black Sea.In spring, depending on the snow conditions, a 10-km-long ski-run accessible to skilled skiers is marked on the glacier. It leads from the Diavolezza aerial tramway terminus to the Morteratsch inn and has an altitude difference of 1,100 m (3,600 ft). The Morteratsch railway station used to be situated directly at the ice front of the glacier. The ice front has receded over 2,800 m (9,200 ft) in the meantime (as of 2016), and can no longer be seen from the station.Yearly length change measurements have been recorded since 1878. For the period to 1998, the overall retreat was over 1.8 km (1.1 mi) with a mean annual retreat rate of approximately 17.2 m (56 ft) per year. This long-term average has markedly increased in recent years, receding 30 m (98 ft) per year from 1999–2005. Substantial retreat was ongoing through 2006 as well. During the last ten years, it lost another 1 kilometre (0.62 mi).During the time that measurements have been taken, the glacier has advanced a few meters in only four years. Since the large glaciers react slowly to short-term climate changes, these advances cannot be accounted for by increased precipitation in the accumulation zone in the previous winter. On the high moraines to the left and right of the ice front, which are still nearly free of overgrowth, the enormous quantities of ice which were still being pushed down here at the end of the "Little Ice Age" in the middle of the 19th century can be seen.In 2017, researchers began developing a snowmaking system to protect the glacier's ice, with a goal of covering square kilometer in 13 feet of snow. It was estimated that a decade of use might make a difference in length of 400-500 meters.

The Boval Hut (Romansh: , German: Bovalhütte) is a refuge in the Alps in Switzerland. It lies at the foot of Piz Morteratsch and Piz Bernina, above the Morteratsch Glacier.