Mountain·Italy / Switzerland

Piz Varuna

3,453m

Bernina Range

Leonhard Lenz · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Elevation: 3,453m
Prominence: 222m
Isolation: 2.6km
Relief: 2,332mabove the lowest point within 5 km
Steepest slope: 56°within 1 km of the summit
Snow at the summit: All yearSee month by month ↓
Summit: 46.3522°N, 9.9928°E

Mountain in the Bernina Range of the Alps

Piz Varuna is a mountain in the Bernina Range (Italy). Its summit stands 3,453 m above sea level. Its prominence — how far it rises above the highest saddle linking it to a taller summit — is 222 m, and the nearest higher ground is 2.6 km away.

From the lowest point within 5 km (1,121 m), it rises 2,332 m. The steepest side is the east face: 38° on average over the first kilometre. In places the ground near the top reaches 56° — terrain for climbers, not walkers.

The nearest town is Poschiavo, 6 km away at 1,010 m: 2,443 m below the summit.

Piz Varuna for skiers and climbers

Two scores out of 10, built only from open data — every part is shown. They describe what the mountain offers, not how safe it is.

Hiking & mountaineering

9.5/10

Difficulty to the top

Mountain walk

Most path sections around the top are T3 on the SAC hiking scale. Glaciers around the top.

Indicative only — never a safety assessment. Conditions change: ask local guides and check the forecast.

2.5/2.535 waymarked routes and 198 path sections nearby
1.5/1.517 huts and shelters
2.0/22,443 m of ascent from the valley
1.0/1.5222 m of prominence
1.5/1.57 months with summit afternoons above −5 °C
1.0/1via ferratas, climbing and glaciers

Ski score

7.9/10

3.1/478 km of downhill runs
0.8/1.520 ski lifts
1.1/1.51,118 m between the lowest and highest lift station
3.0/37 months of snow at about 2,417 m

Runs by difficulty

Beginner 5 km
Easy 16 km
Intermediate 35 km
Difficult 10 km

Snow season on the slopes (estimate)

Around 2,417 m, in the middle of the ski area: snow from November to May (some years from October to June).

Snow on the ground all month
Snow some of the time
No snow
This month

20 lifts · lift stations from 1,858 to 2,976 m · 34 km cross-country

How these scores are made

Ski (where OpenStreetMap has skiing within 12 km): up to 4 points for the length of downhill runs (300 km or more = 4), 1.5 for the number of lifts (40+), 1.5 for the vertical between lift stations (1,500 m) and 3 for the snow season — a month counts when the estimated mean temperature at the height of the ski area is −1 °C or lower and snow falls or lies there (NASA POWER, 2001–2020). Hiking & mountaineering: up to 2.5 for waymarked routes and paths, 1.5 for huts, 2 for the ascent from the valley (2,000 m), 1.5 for prominence (3,000 m), 1.5 for the season (months with summit afternoons above −5 °C) and 1 for via ferratas, climbing and glaciers. OpenStreetMap is built by volunteers: where few things are mapped, a score can be lower than reality.

Plan your visit

Stay, climb and get there

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Snow

When there is snow on Piz Varuna

At the summit, snow all year round. Month by month below, at different heights on the way up.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Summit3,453 msnow all year round	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month
Halfway up2,232 msnow from November to May (some years from October to May)	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	Snow some of the time	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month
Poschiavo1,010 msnow from December to March	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	Snow on the ground all month

Snow on the ground all month
Snow some of the time
No snow
This month

Estimate for a normal year: average temperature and precipitation from NASA POWER, carried to each height, in a simple model of snow building up and melting. In a given year snow can come earlier or stay longer. It does not replace the local snow and avalanche bulletin.

Summit weather

Piz Varuna, month by month

Not a forecast: long-term averages (1991–2020), carried up to the summit. The orange line is where an average afternoon reaches 0 °C; above the dashed blue line it freezes even at dawn.

On an average July afternoon the summit reaches about 7 °C; on January nights it falls to about -23 °C. In 7 months of the year it stays below freezing at the top even in the afternoon. In July the 0 °C line climbs to about 4,590 m, above the summit: the top thaws on an average afternoon. Across the region, February is the driest month (47 mm) and August the wettest (144 mm).

0 °C on an average afternoon 0 °C at dawn the summit

Month	Summit high °C	Summit low °C	Poschiavo high °C	0 °C line (m)	Rain & snow (mm)	Wet days	Sun h/day
January	-14	-23	2	1,280	55	11	4.4
February	-13	-23	3	1,410	47	10	5.6
March	-10	-19	6	1,910	61	12	6.6
April	-5	-13	11	2,700	81	15	6.1
May	1	-9	17	3,560	120	19	6.1
June	6	-4	21	4,300	129	19	7.5
July	7	-3	23	4,590	129	20	8.1
August	7	-3	23	4,500	144	19	7.3
September	3	-7	19	3,900	99	15	6.3
October	-2	-10	14	3,170	99	14	5.1
November	-8	-16	8	2,170	102	13	3.6
December	-13	-22	3	1,450	65	12	3.7

Estimate: the NASA POWER climate of a ~55 km cell (average height 2,144 m), adjusted to the summit by −6.5 °C per 1,000 m. Rain, wet days and sunshine are those of the region. Mountain weather changes fast — always check a local forecast. ★ = mildest months at the top.

Relief

The mountain in profile

Two cuts through the summit, 16 km long, from the 30 m Copernicus elevation model. Heights drawn 2× taller than lengths, so the shape can be seen.

West – east

South – north

Steepness by direction

Average slope of the first kilometre from the summit. The orange petal is the steepest side.

Around the mountain

Huts, lifts and trails around Piz Varuna

Counted around the summit in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. The satellite plate shows 14 × 14 km.

A lift reaches Diavolezza at 2,976 m — just 477 m below the summit.

17mountain huts and shelters
Berghaus Diavolezza (2,978 m), Bivacco Anghileri Rusconi (2,654 m), Bivacco Pansera (3,540 m), Alp Grüm and 13 more
5cable cars, gondolas, chairlifts and rack railways
Luftseilbahn Bernina-Diavolezza, Bocchel del Torno, Scerscen - Cima Motta and 2 more
4ski areas
Diavolezza-Lagalb, Valmalenco Bernina, Lanzada - Pradasc
35waymarked hiking routes
Via Valtellina, Alp Grüm-Cavaglia, Cavaglia-Puntalta, Puntalta-Cadera and 31 more
4via ferratas
Klettersteig Piz Trovat I (C), Klettersteig Piz Trovat II (E)
6climbing crags and routes
Secondo Settore, Zoia Alta, Zoia Bassa, Puntalta and 2 more
15named glaciers
Vadret da Misaun, Vadrettin da Misaun, Vadrett d'Arlas, Vedretta di Sassal Mason and 11 more
20viewpoints
Piz Campasc, Blick ins Val Poschiavo, Alp Grüm and 17 more
3campsites
Stellplatz Lago di Poschiavo, Camping Cavresc, Camping Boomerang
30hotels, B&Bs and chalets
Altavilla, Foppoli, Croce Bianca, Hotel Suisse and 26 more
57restaurants and cafés

How hard are the paths?

198 path sections within 5 km, by SAC hiking scale (T1 easy walk … T6 difficult alpine).

T1T2T3T4T5T6

T1 hiking
T2 mountain hiking
T3 demanding mountain hiking
T4 alpine hiking
T5 demanding alpine hiking
T6 difficult alpine hiking

Towns at the foot

Poschiavo6 km · 1,010 m
Lanzada13 km · 983 m
Caspoggio14 km · 1,098 m
Brusio14 km · 776 m
Chiesa in Valmalenco15 km · 960 m
Pontresina17 km · 1,822 m
Villa20 km · 405 m
Ponte in Valtellina20 km · 485 m

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OpenStreetMap is built by volunteers: a low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. Places © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

Photos

Seen by climbers and visitors

Piz Varuna Alp Gruem — Marco Zanoli · CC BY-SA 3.0

Piz Varuna Somdoss 2009 — Marco Zanoli · CC BY-SA 3.0

Recent years

How each month compared at the summit

Afternoon high at the summit (estimate). The first row is the reference, the 1991–2020 average in °C; the years show only the difference.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
1991–2020 average	-14	-13	-10	-5	1	6	7	7	3	-2	-8	-13
2020	+2.1	+2.0	±0.0	+2.4	+1.4	−1.4	+0.8	+0.8	+1.0	−2.5	+3.9	−0.2
2021	−1.7	+2.6	−1.0	−3.2	−2.5	+0.9	−0.5	−0.9	+1.8	−0.8	−0.5	+0.9
2022	+0.8	+1.1	+1.3	+1.3	+2.4	+2.3	+2.2	+1.9	−1.1	+3.2	+0.5	+1.3
2023	+0.2	+1.8	+2.8	−0.4	−0.1	+1.1	+0.7	+1.0	+3.8	+3.0	−2.1	+2.3
2024	+1.9	+3.6	+1.2	−1.8	−0.9	−0.6	+1.5	+2.7	−1.6	+1.1	+2.3	+2.0
2025	+1.9	+2.5	+1.6	+2.9	+0.2	+3.9	−1.2	+1.0	+0.6	−0.3	−0.2	+2.6

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

Nearby

More mountains nearby

About these numbers

Names, elevation, prominence	Wikidata (Q16630) · CC0
Relief, 3D view, profiles	Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
Climate	NASA POWER, 1991–2020 · CC BY 4.0
Around the mountain	© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
Images	EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

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