Piz Badile
Encyclopedia
Piz Badile is a mountain
in the Bregaglia range
in the Swiss
canton
of Graubünden
and Italy
, the border between the two countries running along the summit ridge. Its northeast face is considered one of the six great north faces of the Alps
.
The first ascent
of Piz Badile was by W. A. B. Coolidge
with guides F. and H. Dévouassoud on 27 July 1867 by the south ridge. The mountain had first come to the notice of British alpinists from D. W. Freshfield
's writings of the 1860s. He gave the name 'the Grey Twins' to Piz Badile and Piz Cengalo
, and made the first ascent of Piz Cengalo in 1866.
The two classic routes on Piz Badile are the north ridge and the Cassin Route on the north-east face. The north ridge – the Badilekante – was first prospected solo by the Swiss guide Christian Klucker
in 1892 (Klucker later made the first ascent of the Badile's west-south-west ridge with Anton von Rydzewski and M. Barbaria on 14 June 1897). After several unsuccessful attempts by Italian parties in 1911, the ridge (IV, one pitch of V-) finally fell to Alfred Zürcher with the guide Walter Risch on 4 August 1923. F. l'Orsa and André Roch
found a more direct line on the ridge on the second ascent (18 July 1926).
The most popular route on the north-east face is the Cassin Route (V+/A0 or VI+), so-called after the first ascentionist Riccardo Cassin
, who climbed it with V. Ratti and G. Esposito, together with the Como team of Mario Molteni and Giuseppe Valsecchi on 14–16 July 1937. Molteni and Valsecchi were already on the face when Cassin and his party started out, but the climbers subsequently joined forces. In this famous alpine epic, Molteni died of exhaustion and exposure on the summit, whilst Valsecchi died on the descent by the south ridge just before reaching the hut.
The name Badile means spade or shovel (arising from the mountain's appearance when viewed from the Val Bregaglia
).
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
in the Bregaglia range
Bregaglia Range
The Bregaglia Range is a small group of mostly granite mountains in Graubünden, Switzerland and the Province of Sondrio, northern Italy. It derives its name from the partly Swiss, partly Italian valley, the Val Bregaglia, and is known as Bergell in German...
in the Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
canton
Cantons of Switzerland
The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the federal state of Switzerland. Each canton was a fully sovereign state with its own borders, army and currency from the Treaty of Westphalia until the establishment of the Swiss federal state in 1848...
of Graubünden
Graubünden
Graubünden or Grisons is the largest and easternmost canton of Switzerland. The canton shares borders with the cantons of Ticino, Uri, Glarus and St. Gallen and international borders with Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein...
and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, the border between the two countries running along the summit ridge. Its northeast face is considered one of the six great north faces of the Alps
Great north faces of the Alps
In mountaineering, the six great north faces of the Alps are known for their difficulty and great height. They are:*Cima Grande di Lavaredo*Eiger*Grandes Jorasses*Matterhorn*Petit Dru*Piz Badile...
.
The first ascent
First ascent
In climbing, a first ascent is the first successful, documented attainment of the top of a mountain, or the first to follow a particular climbing route...
of Piz Badile was by W. A. B. Coolidge
W. A. B. Coolidge
William Augustus Brevoort Coolidge was an American historian, theologian and mountaineer.Coolidge was born in New York as the son of Frederic William Skinner Coolidge, a Boston merchant, and Elisabeth Neville Brevoort of the Netherlands. He studied history and law at St...
with guides F. and H. Dévouassoud on 27 July 1867 by the south ridge. The mountain had first come to the notice of British alpinists from D. W. Freshfield
Douglas Freshfield
Douglas William Freshfield was a British lawyer, mountaineer and author, who edited the Alpine Journal from 1872 to 1880...
's writings of the 1860s. He gave the name 'the Grey Twins' to Piz Badile and Piz Cengalo
Piz Cengalo
Piz Cengalo is a mountain in the Bregaglia range of the Alps on the border between the Swiss canton of Graubünden and Italy.The first ascent of the mountain was by D. W. Freshfield and C. Comyns Tucker with guide F...
, and made the first ascent of Piz Cengalo in 1866.
The two classic routes on Piz Badile are the north ridge and the Cassin Route on the north-east face. The north ridge – the Badilekante – was first prospected solo by the Swiss guide Christian Klucker
Christian Klucker
Christian Klucker was a Swiss mountain guide who made many first ascents in the Alps, particularly in the Bernina Range, the Bregaglia and the Pennine Alps.Amongst his first ascents were:...
in 1892 (Klucker later made the first ascent of the Badile's west-south-west ridge with Anton von Rydzewski and M. Barbaria on 14 June 1897). After several unsuccessful attempts by Italian parties in 1911, the ridge (IV, one pitch of V-) finally fell to Alfred Zürcher with the guide Walter Risch on 4 August 1923. F. l'Orsa and André Roch
André Roch
André Roch, , was a mountaineer, avalanche expert, skier, resort developer, engineer, and author...
found a more direct line on the ridge on the second ascent (18 July 1926).
The most popular route on the north-east face is the Cassin Route (V+/A0 or VI+), so-called after the first ascentionist Riccardo Cassin
Riccardo Cassin
Riccardo Cassin was an Italian mountaineer, developer of mountaineering equipment and author.-Life:Born at San Vito al Tagliamento, Friuli, Cassin was one of the leading mountaineers of the inter-war period; in all, Cassin made a total of 2,500 ascents, of which over 100 were first ascents...
, who climbed it with V. Ratti and G. Esposito, together with the Como team of Mario Molteni and Giuseppe Valsecchi on 14–16 July 1937. Molteni and Valsecchi were already on the face when Cassin and his party started out, but the climbers subsequently joined forces. In this famous alpine epic, Molteni died of exhaustion and exposure on the summit, whilst Valsecchi died on the descent by the south ridge just before reaching the hut.
The name Badile means spade or shovel (arising from the mountain's appearance when viewed from the Val Bregaglia
Val Bregaglia
The Val Bregaglia or Bergell Tal is an alpine valley of Switzerland and Italy at the base of which runs the river Mera River...
).