X-posted in Conne orbituary thread
Riccardo Cassin, an italian mountaineer and author, died on August the 6th at the age of 100.
He is famous for the first ascent of the Walker spur on the Grandes Jorasses north face (one the 4 mythical great north faces of the Alps) in the Mont Blanc Massif, made in August 1938 with Gino Esposito and Ugo Tizzoni, an extraodinary accomplishment in alpine mountaineering.
During the WWII, he was an chief partisan and fought against the German occupiers on the later stage of the war.
Later, he led numerous expeditions to the Andes, Karakoram and Alaska range. For instance he supervised the first ascent of the Gasherbrum IV in the Baltoro Muztagh in 1958 and made the first climb of the Cassin ridge (one of the hardest route) on Denali (Mt McKinley) in 1961.
He made 100 first ascents, over than 2,500 major climbs over the course of his life, many of them with a rudimentary equipment by today's standards.
I'm stubborn. What I start, I have to finish. I never came down from a mountain without reaching the top.”
Riccardo Cassin, an italian mountaineer and author, died on August the 6th at the age of 100.
He is famous for the first ascent of the Walker spur on the Grandes Jorasses north face (one the 4 mythical great north faces of the Alps) in the Mont Blanc Massif, made in August 1938 with Gino Esposito and Ugo Tizzoni, an extraodinary accomplishment in alpine mountaineering.
During the WWII, he was an chief partisan and fought against the German occupiers on the later stage of the war.
Later, he led numerous expeditions to the Andes, Karakoram and Alaska range. For instance he supervised the first ascent of the Gasherbrum IV in the Baltoro Muztagh in 1958 and made the first climb of the Cassin ridge (one of the hardest route) on Denali (Mt McKinley) in 1961.
He made 100 first ascents, over than 2,500 major climbs over the course of his life, many of them with a rudimentary equipment by today's standards.
Quote:
“I always climbed with severity, that is how the mountain became my friend, and never hurt my climbing partners or me. I always brought home everyone who came along, and never lost a friend on a rope.I'm stubborn. What I start, I have to finish. I never came down from a mountain without reaching the top.”
