Piz Corvatsch

Piz Corvatsch

Piz Corvatsch seen from Lake Sils
Highest point
Elevation 3,451 m (11,322 ft)
Prominence 383 m (1,257 ft)[1]
Isolation 5.2 km (3.2 mi)[2]
Parent peak Piz Bernina
Coordinates 46°24′30″N 9°48′58″E / 46.40833°N 9.81611°E / 46.40833; 9.81611Coordinates: 46°24′30″N 9°48′58″E / 46.40833°N 9.81611°E / 46.40833; 9.81611
Naming
Translation Crow (or raven) peak
Geography
Piz Corvatsch

Location in Switzerland

Location Graubünden, Switzerland
Parent range Bernina Range
Climbing
First ascent 1850 by Johann Coaz and party[3]
Easiest route From the Corvatsch station

Piz Corvatsch ( [ˌpitskorˈvatʃ] ) 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 3,451 m (11,322 ft), 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 (3,433 m (11,263 ft); north of Piz Corvatsch) and the unnamed summit where lies the Corvatsch upper cable car station (3,303 m (10,837 ft); north of Piz Murtèl). Politically, the summit of Piz Corvatsch is shared between the municipalities of Sils im Engadin 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.

View from the observation deck of the Corvatsch station. On the right is Piz Murtèl and on the middle-left is Piz Bernina, the highest mountain in the Eastern Alps. The summit of Piz Corvatsch lies behind Piz Murtèl.

Climate

Climate data for Piz Corvatsch (1981-2010)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) −8.6
(16.5)
−9.5
(14.9)
−8.2
(17.2)
−6.0
(21.2)
−1.5
(29.3)
1.8
(35.2)
4.8
(40.6)
4.9
(40.8)
1.6
(34.9)
−1.0
(30.2)
−5.7
(21.7)
−8.0
(17.6)
−3.0
(26.6)
Daily mean °C (°F) −11.3
(11.7)
−12.1
(10.2)
−10.8
(12.6)
−8.3
(17.1)
−3.6
(25.5)
−0.4
(31.3)
2.3
(36.1)
2.3
(36.1)
−0.7
(30.7)
−3.3
(26.1)
−8.1
(17.4)
−10.6
(12.9)
−5.4
(22.3)
Average low °C (°F) −13.8
(7.2)
−14.8
(5.4)
−13.4
(7.9)
−10.7
(12.7)
−5.9
(21.4)
−2.7
(27.1)
−0.2
(31.6)
0.0
(32)
−2.8
(27)
−5.5
(22.1)
−10.5
(13.1)
−13.1
(8.4)
−7.8
(18)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 45
(1.77)
41
(1.61)
52
(2.05)
68
(2.68)
97
(3.82)
104
(4.09)
104
(4.09)
105
(4.13)
81
(3.19)
77
(3.03)
71
(2.8)
56
(2.2)
900
(35.43)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 6.9 6.4 8.6 10.8 13.3 12.9 11.9 11.8 9.0 8.9 9.1 8.1 117.7
Average relative humidity (%) 62 64 71 77 80 80 77 77 75 68 68 66 72
Mean monthly sunshine hours 149 160 188 171 177 182 216 195 181 179 135 130 2,063
Source: MeteoSwiss [4]

See also

References

  1. Retrieved from the Swisstopo topographic maps. The key col is the Fuorcla Fex-Roseg (3,068 m).
  2. Retrieved from Google Earth. The nearest point of higher elevation is northwest of Piz Roseg.
  3. Collomb, Robin, Bernina Alps, Goring: West Col Productions, 1988, p. 109.
  4. "Climate Norm Value Tables". Climate diagrams and normals from Swiss measuring stations. Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology (MeteoSwiss). Retrieved 23 January 2013. The weather station elevation is 3305 meters above sea level.

External links

Media related to Piz Corvatsch at Wikimedia Commons

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, January 30, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.