Mountain·Italy / Switzerland

Pizzo Cengalo

3,369m

Bregaglia Range

Biovit · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Elevation: 3,369m
Prominence: 620m
Isolation: 5.8km
Relief: 2,186mabove the lowest point within 5 km
Steepest slope: 69°within 1 km of the summit
Snow at the summit: All yearSee month by month ↓
Summit: 46.2942°N, 9.6017°E

Mountain shared by Switzerland and Italy

Pizzo Cengalo is a mountain in the Bregaglia Range (Italy). Its summit stands 3,369 m above sea level. Its prominence — how far it rises above the highest saddle linking it to a taller summit — is 620 m, and the nearest higher ground is 5.8 km away.

From the lowest point within 5 km (1,183 m), it rises 2,186 m. The steepest side is the north face: 51° on average over the first kilometre. In places the ground near the top reaches 69° — terrain for climbers, not walkers.

The nearest town is Cataeggio, 9 km away at 787 m: 2,582 m below the summit.

Pizzo Cengalo 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

9.4/10

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.

2.5/2.524 waymarked routes and 240 path sections nearby
1.5/1.523 huts and shelters
2.0/22,582 m of ascent from the valley
1.2/1.5620 m of prominence
1.5/1.56 months with summit afternoons above −5 °C
0.6/1via ferratas, climbing and glaciers

Ski score

5.3/10

1.2/44 km of downhill runs
0.2/1.56 ski lifts
0.9/1.5910 m between the lowest and highest lift station
3.0/37 months of snow at about 1,645 m

Runs by difficulty

Intermediate 2 km
Difficult 1 km

Snow season on the slopes (estimate)

Around 1,645 m, in the middle of the ski area: snow from November to May.

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

6 lifts · lift stations from 1,190 to 2,100 m · 12 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 Pizzo Cengalo

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
Summit3,369 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 up2,078 msnow from November 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	No snow	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month
Cataeggio787 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

Pizzo Cengalo, 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 8 °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 4,530 m, above the summit: the top thaws on an average afternoon. Across the region, February is the driest month (55 mm) and August the wettest (166 mm).

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

Month	Summit high °C	Summit low °C	Cataeggio high °C	0 °C line (m)	Rain & snow (mm)	Wet days	Sun h/day
January	-14	-23	3	1,240	64	11	4.1
February	-13	-23	4	1,360	55	10	5.5
March	-10	-18	7	1,840	73	12	6.4
April	-5	-13	12	2,590	98	15	5.9
May	1	-9	18	3,500	142	20	5.7
June	6	-4	23	4,270	148	20	7.4
July	8	-2	24	4,530	143	19	7.9
August	7	-2	24	4,420	166	18	7.1
September	3	-6	20	3,820	110	15	6.1
October	-2	-10	15	3,100	114	14	4.7
November	-8	-15	9	2,110	122	14	3.4
December	-13	-21	4	1,420	77	13	3.4

Estimate: the NASA POWER climate of a ~55 km cell (average height 2,037 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 Pizzo Cengalo

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

A lift reaches Albigna at 2,100 m — just 1,269 m below the summit.

23mountain huts and shelters
Rifugio Mello (1,100 m), Bivacco Casorate Sempione (2,100 m), Bivacco Carlo Valli (1,920 m), Rifugio Bresciadega (1,214 m) and 19 more
1cable cars, gondolas, chairlifts and rack railways
Pranzaira-Albigna
—ski areas
24waymarked hiking routes
Albignastaumauer - Albigniahütte, Capanna Sciora - Albigniastausee, Promontogno - Laret, Promontogno - Nossa Donna and 20 more
—via ferratas
23climbing crags and routes
Sasso Remenno, Piz Badile Nordkante, Boulderpark Albigna, Attacco Via Il Risveglio di Kundalini and 19 more
14named glaciers
Vadrec da l'Albigna, Ghiacciaio di Castello, Ghiacciaio di Cantun, Ghiacciaio Arnasca Ovest and 10 more
9viewpoints
4campsites
Ground Jack, Camping Lo Scoiattolo, Campeggio Sasso Remenno, Camping Mulina
32hotels, B&Bs and chalets
Hotel Palazzo Salis, La Soglina, Stüa Granda, Verena und Felix Brügger and 28 more
31restaurants and cafés

How hard are the paths?

240 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

Cataeggio9 km · 787 m
Val Masino9 km · 824 m
Villa10 km · 647 m
Villa di Chiavenna10 km · 618 m
Novate Mezzola14 km · 212 m
Piuro14 km · 400 m
Ardenno15 km · 266 m
Villapinta15 km · 272 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

Bergeller Alpen as seen from Gletscherhorn (Oberhalbsteiner Alpen) — Capricorn4049 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Musso Lake Como Bergell Alps — Corradox · CC BY-SA 4.0

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	8	7	3	-2	-8	-13
2020	+1.9	+1.9	+0.4	+2.6	+2.0	−1.3	+1.1	+1.4	+1.2	−2.6	+3.7	−0.3
2021	−1.4	+2.1	−0.9	−3.6	−2.5	+0.9	−0.4	−0.6	+1.7	−0.7	−0.4	+0.7
2022	+1.0	+1.4	+1.2	+1.9	+2.9	+2.2	+2.3	+1.9	−0.9	+3.4	+0.5	+1.0
2023	+0.4	+2.1	+3.1	−0.1	+0.3	+1.2	+1.0	+1.1	+3.9	+3.1	−1.7	+2.1
2024	+1.5	+3.6	+1.3	−1.7	−0.8	−0.7	+1.7	+2.9	−1.8	+1.2	+2.2	+1.7
2025	+1.8	+2.0	+1.3	+3.0	+0.5	+4.0	−0.8	+1.4	+0.6	±0.0	−0.4	+2.5

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

Nearby

More mountains nearby

3,308 mPizzo Badile

Switzerland1 km away

3,379 mCima di Castello

Italy6 km away

4,048 mPiz Bernina

Switzerland25 km away

3,678 mMonte Disgrazia

Italy12 km away

3,451 mPiz Corvatsch

Switzerland21 km away

3,935 mPiz Roseg

Switzerland23 km away

About these numbers

Names, elevation, prominence	Wikidata (Q2574854) · 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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