I was born and live with my family in Oltre il Colle, a small village in the heart of the Orobie Alps, in Bergamo’s province. Behind my home: the Arera Mount; an island of white limestone in the center of Bergamo’s valleys. From its summit, after a storm, it is possible to recognize in the distance the Monviso and Monte Rosa, the granitic summits of Masino, the Adamello glaciers, and, far away, the Appennino. I often reach such a familiar summit to “relax”, to “speak to myself”, and to look at the colors fading away in the darkness of the valleys below. Here, my desire to go one step further was born and for several years I travelled from peak to peak in our beautiful Alps. I will always remember with particular joy the ascents of the Pointe Walker of the Grand Jorasses through the Cassin route, of Cima Scotoni in the Dolomites through the “Scotonata galattica” route, of the Civetta Mount through “the Cassin” route at the Trieste Tower, and “la Tissi” at the Venezia Tower. Back in those days, I alternated the pleasure of classic ascents with national climbing competitions: my best ranks were a first place at the national Master in 1994 and a third place at the national climbing championships.
The idea to become a professional mountain guide started then to take place and after two years of intense training I finally landed at the national courses, fulfilling my dream of being a mountain guide at the age of 28.
I’ve always loved traveling and suddenly I was able to do that as part of my own job. I found in Caucasus an incredible ski touring surprise and in Nepal the stunning trekking tours at the feet of the Eight-thousanders. A year later I visited Perù and climbed the Alpamajo through the Ragni route, the Pisco, and almost the Huascaran. Then came Africa with its national parks and the Ascent of Mount Kenya.
In Patagonia I found “my dimension”. This is the land which gave me the some of the strongest and most beautiful experiences of my life. Together with a dear friend I climbed the Fitz Roy through the Franco-Argentina route, the Poincenot through the William and Friends route and, a year later, the most beautiful one: the Cerro Torre through the Maestri route. As a mountain guide, I came back to those big walls for an unforgettable trekking with handicapped boys and girls, touching with my hands the “the joy of infinite” in their eyes.
I came back two more times to Argentina and climbed, with clients and friends, the Aconcagua: the highest Mountain of South America.
2004 was the anniversary of the first ascent of K2 in Pakistan. With joy, I was invited to join the Italian expedition which aimed at repeating the route of the first succesfull mountaineers. This was a great experience, which allowed me to graze the summit.
In 2006 I went back to South America and in particular to Chile and the Hielo Continental Sur: 450 Km of snow and ice between Chile and Argentina, along the North-South line. Together with two other female friends, we tried to cross, in complete autonomy, this infinite “ice-snake”. With skis at our feet , a ninety kilos sled for each of us, and food for sixty days, we dove into this adventure. After 45 days of walk, often in complete white-out and with no external connection, our tent was destroyed by a five-days lasting “patagonic” storm. And so were our dreams: after two nights in an emergency tent, we were forced to leave the glacier at the Passo del Viento in Argentina, from where we reached Laguna Toro, and, finally, the village of El Chalten.
In 2007, the immense Tibetan plateaus brought me to the base of Mount Everest Nord Face. Together with a small group of friends, we were aiming at reaching the summit in “Alpine style”. On the 17th of May we reached the top. Unfortunately, because of a banal accident during the descent, Pierangelo, a dear friend, did not make it to base camp.
In the last years I completely dedicated myself to my activities as mountain guide, assembling new via Ferratas and cracks and accompanying people from all over the world on the most beautiful summits of the Alps: from ski touring in Tirol to the four-thausenders of the west Alps, from sport climbing in Arco to alpine routes in the Dolomites. And finally, Stromboli trekkings: the only constantly active and open to public volcano in the world.
Everest Summit
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