Pizzo Tambo vs Piz Timun (Pizzo Emet)

If you are in the Spluga Pass area and want to climb some of the peaks around, Pizzo Tambo and Piz Timun (Pizzo Emet) will likely be your first choices. Read here which is harder.

So if you have no time for both peaks, and have to choose one, or if you simply want to start with an easier peak first, this text will help.

Both mountains are majestic and there is no doubt you will have a sense of accomplishment and enjoy breathtaking views. When you are on one of the two peaks, you will see the other. The top picture above shows this. 

There are differences worth considering when you go to climb these peaks, and those are summarized here in the text. They include some factors that I find important to compare for these two mountains like:

• Technical challenges.
• Elevation difference from the car parking. 
• Time needed to get to the summit.
• Orientation issues.
• Water and food supplies.
• Accommodation and shelters in general.
• Car parking.

I have climbed both mountains myself, so everything you read here is based on my own first-hand experience. So you can find details in my texts about Pizzo Tambo and Pizzo d’Emet. Note that on some maps you will see Piz Timun instead of Pizzo Emet, so this is the same mountain.

It is interesting that both peaks are on the Italian/Swiss border, and when you walk up, you will be sometimes in one country and sometimes in another. Border stones are on the route at several places. 

Comparison table

The table below summarizes side by side what I think about these mountains:

As you see, in some ways these two mountains are similar. I shall now explain the meaning of some of the items in the table.

Route type: Walk-up means that you do not need any special equipment for these mountains. There are no fixed cables or ropes. Both peaks can be climbed as long day tours. 

Snow free: This means in the case of summer climbing.

Elevation difference: This is the difference between the start point and the summit. Of course, you can climb the mountains from different sides, but I am talking here about the shortest normal routes.

But the start points are not the same. For Pizzo Tambo, you start from Spluga Pass, so this is the highest car access in the area. In the case of Pizzo Emet, you start from Montespluga lake which is at around 1900 meters of elevation.

Note that Pizzo Emet (Piz Timun) elevation is 3211 m (10534 ft), and Pizzo Tambo is a bit higher 3279 m (10757 ft). So you have less altitude to climb on Pizzo Tambo.

If you inspect the maps given in my separate posts for these two mountains, you will realize that the Pizzo Emet route is a bit longer.

Time needed: This is from my own experience, so this is not in general. The point is that you need more time for Pizzo Emet.

Orientation: At least in the lower parts, the routes are marked. Higher, you will have cairns. In this sense, both mountain are more or less similar, and you should not have problems in finding the route.

Note that none of the two peaks is visible from the corresponding car parking. But there you have clear direction signs. 

Water on the route: The meaning is that you have some streams and lakes. But it is advisable always to use a water filter.

Huts: For Pizzo Tambo you have to have your food in the pack. On the route to Pizzo Emet you have the Rifugio Giovanni Bertacchi so you can have meals there, and you can also sleep there. I was sleeping in the car on the parking, and this holds for both climbs. 

Exposed sections: There are some exposed passages on Pizzo Emet, and they include two places where you have to jump over gaps between cliffs. So bear this in mind if you are overweight and if you have issues with vertigo.

But this does not mean that Pizzo Tambo is very easy. The final section below the summit is steep and you have to navigate carefully between boulders.

Buy, the way, did you know that according to some data, in the US, there are 110000 annual bathtub and shower-related accidents. They result in over 70 deaths each year. In addition, over 100 people drown every year in bathtubs. Now, if a bathtub can be such a dangerous place, climbing a mountain which is over 3000 meters high cannot be without risks. 

Conclusion

All in all, my conclusion is that Piz Timun (Pizzo Emet) is harder to climb than Pizzo Tambo. Two major reasons are exposed sections and elevation difference. But you do not have a hut on your way to Pizzo Tambo.

Please read more about these two peaks in my separate texts.

• Pizzo Tambo.
• Piz Timun (Pizzo Emet).

Thank you for reading. Let me know if you have questions, there is a comment box below.