When Johann Coaz reports to his friends that he has successfully reached the peak of the Piz Bernina, the highest point of the Canton of Graubünden, he was met with only doubtful smiles. The Piz Bernina was considered by almost all to be unconquerable, and at 4049m and the topographically most isolated peak in the entire Switzerland, this hardly comes as a surprise. But upon aiming a telescope towards the summit and angling it to capture the flag fluttering in the wind at the summit, Coaz proved that all it takes is perseverance and the courage to try. Piz Bernina is the only “four thousander” in the Eastern Alps, and one of a trio of isolated peaks reaching above 4000 metres in the entire mountain range. The famous undulated, snow covered ridge of the Bernina goes by many names; the Biancograt, the Crast’Alva and perhaps the most apt, the Himmelsgrat, meaning sky-ridge, which perfectly describes how it appears to reach endlessly up into the world above. When the powerful winds at the top whip the snow off the surface of the ridge, carrying it billowing out in the breeze, it even appears to be smoking like a volcano.

Wine and dine at the top of the mountain or wind your way through the mountains with glorious alpine views rising up on either side of you on board the historic Bernina Express and marvel at the frozen lakes and snow drenched terrain to your heart’s content. Learned Skiers also have the opportunity to have the run of your life down the Bernina mountainside while the surrounding beauty flashes past you. There’s few places in the world where you can look in any direction and be met with increasingly stunning views, but this peak easily makes the list.