Good bye Walter Bonatti

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stefano607518

Trad climber

italy/austria/switzerland

Topic Author's Original Post - Sep 14, 2011 - 07:24am PT

RIP

http://www.planetmountain.com/english/News/shownews1.lasso?l=2&keyid=38548

Jan

Mountain climber

Okinawa, Japan

Sep 14, 2011 - 08:01am PT

A life well lived. RIP.

Toker Villain

Big Wall climber

Toquerville, Utah

Sep 14, 2011 - 08:09am PT

This is sad news indeed.

A gracious gentleman and an inspiration to all climbers.

I will miss him.

survival

Big Wall climber

A Token of My Extreme

Sep 14, 2011 - 08:50am PT

Wow. RIP Walter.

One of my greatest early inspirations as a climber.

A life well lived indeed.

survival

Big Wall climber

A Token of My Extreme

Sep 14, 2011 - 09:06am PT

Bonatti was born in Bergamo.

Famed for his climbing panache, he pioneered little known and technically difficult climbs in the Alps, Himalaya and Patagonia. Among his notable climbs are a solo climb of a new route on the south-west pillar of the Aiguille du Dru in August 1955 and the first solo winter ascent of the Matterhorn north face in 1965. At the age of 21, Bonatti in 1951 made the first ascent of the Grand Capucin, an extraordinary red granite pinnacle in the Mont Blanc massif, from 20 to 23 July. This was the climb that brought him to public notice. At age eighteen, Bonatti had made the fourth ascent of the formidable North Face of the Grandes Jorasses with very poor equipment over a period of two days.

Bonatti was at the center of a climbing controversy regarding the first ascent of K2 by Lino Lacedelli and Achille Compagnoni. Along with Hunza climber Amir Mahdi, Bonatti carried oxygen cylinders to Lacedelli and Compagnoni at Camp IX for the summit attempt. Bonatti was later accused by Compagnoni of using some of the oxygen, causing the climbers to run out of oxygen on summit day. Using this supplemental oxygen would have been impossible for Bonatti: he had neither mask nor regulator. Bonatti would cite two summit photos to support his theory that Compagnoni lied about running out of oxygen in route to the summit. Although Bonatti's account of the bivouac is supported by Lacedelli in K2: The Price of Conquest (2004), Lacedelli contends that the oxygen did in fact run out. However, he attributes this not to Bonatti's alleged use of the oxygen, but to the physical exertion of the climb causing the summit climbers to use more oxygen than expected.

Another aspect of the controversy was the Bonatti-Mahdi forced bivouac of July 30, 1954. Compagnoni's decision to place the final camp (IX) at a higher location than formerly agreed caused the problem. When Bonatti and Mahdi climbed up to deliver oxygen to Compagnoni and Lacedelli for their summit attempt, Mahdi's condition had deteriorated. Unable to descend with Mahdi, Bonatti needed the shelter of Camp IX's tent. The tent was placed high up, over a dangerous traverse to the left - not at the agreed upon location. Unable to safely traverse to the tent, Bonatti and Mahdi endured a forced bivouac in the open at 8100 meters; it cost Mahdi his fingers and toes. Compagnoni explains his decision to move the tent was to avoid an overhanging serac, a viable explanation.

However, it is argued that he also had an ulterior motive: to avoid Walter Bonatti. Bonatti was in the best physical condition of all the climbers and the logical choice to make the summit attempt. If he had joined the summit team, he would likely have done so without the use of supplemental oxygen. If he had succeeded, any summit by Compagnoni would have been utterly eclipsed. Although the Bonatti-Mahdi forced bivouac was not anticipated, Compagnoni intended to discourage Bonatti from reaching the tent. At 6:10 pm the next evening, Compagnoni and Lino Lacedelli reached the summit of K2, using the supplemental oxygen Bonatti and Mahdi had brought them. Ardito Desio, in his final report, mentioned the forced bivouac only in passing. Mahdi's frostbite was an embarrassment to the expedition. The Italian government provided Mahdi with a small pension for his contribution and sacrifice on the first ascent of K2.

Walter Bonatti has never reconciled with Compagnoni, owing to Compagnoni's allegedly false accusation that Bonatti used the oxygen intended for the summit attempt.

Bonatti wanted to climb K2 "solo, alpine style, and without oxygen".[1] He might well have succeeded. Two decades later, Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler astonished the mountaineering world by climbing Mount Everest without bottled oxygen.

Walter Bonatti was awarded the French Legion d'Honneur for saving the lives of two fellow-climbers in a disaster in the Alps. Bonatti is the author of a number of books about climbing and mountaineering.

He died in Rome in September 2011.

Patrick Sawyer

climber

Originally California now Ireland

Sep 14, 2011 - 09:28am PT

What an inspiration, what a climber and what a human being. RIP. Wish I could have met him.

I use to have a number of his blue-gated biners.

Delhi Dog

climber

Good Question...

Sep 14, 2011 - 09:29am PT

There was a man,
who put dreams
into actions,
and made those
dreams come true.

RIP

donini

Trad climber

Ouray, Colorado

Sep 14, 2011 - 09:38am PT

Bonatti was the only climbing hero I ever had. It was an honor to be part of the Piolet d'Or delegation that presented him a lifetime achievment award a couple of years ago.

steve shea

climber

Sep 14, 2011 - 09:40am PT

Sad, news. The Alpine world has lost a true pioneer and a good guy. RIP. He left us a legacy of treasure with his routes. His signature climbs will endure and I would say he was my only climbing hero as well.

Studly

Trad climber

Sep 14, 2011 - 10:07am PT

The passing of a Era and a great man. What a inspiration to the rest of us he was. Goodbye Walter.

marcussi

Trad climber

verona italy

Sep 14, 2011 - 10:09am PT

Truly sad news, and quite unexpected. I'd like to quote the words (my translation) of Annibale Salsa, former General Presidente of CAI (Italian Alpine Club) and one of those few in the institution who backed the efforts to clear Bonatti of the K2 allegations and to restore the historical truth:" I was deeply shaken by the news of the loss of Walter Bonatti, in particular because, since the day of his 80th birthday party in June 2010 at Messner's, where I had been invited, I was able to see a Bonatti born to a new life. A man reborn in body and soul, morally compensated thanks to his full restoration by CAI in relation to the K2 affair. Hence, my utmost happiness remains that of having contributed to give him back that peace of mind that He had been struggling for in the last 54 years. Dear Walter, now you can rest in peace amongst Your mountains after reconciling with mankind"
One of the latest TV appearances of Bonatti, here with Messner (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ak2rFQYZhw8);

Reilly

Mountain climber

The Other Monrovia- CA

Sep 14, 2011 - 10:16am PT

Hard as nails and classy all the way.
Has anyone done near as many iconic routes?

rick d

climber

ol pueblo, az

Sep 14, 2011 - 10:19am PT

one reporter writes:
"Two decades later, Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler astonished the mountaineering world by climbing Mount Everest without bottled oxygen."

yea, except freaking Herman did Nanga Parbat a year before SOLO w/o o2.

bitches.

(adios Walter, you were one of the best)

PhilG

Trad climber

The Circuit, Tonasket WA

Sep 14, 2011 - 10:34am PT

If there ever was a climber beyond the word hero, above the word inspiration, he was the one.

Brokedownclimber

Trad climber

Douglas, WY

Sep 14, 2011 - 10:36am PT

RIP! An exemplary climber.

Steve Grossman

Trad climber

Seattle, WA

Sep 14, 2011 - 10:50am PT

Bon Voyage Walter!

Much respect for the way that you lived and played the game on all levels!

Truly an inspired and inspiring life.

Rest well and return to us soon...

Norwegian

Trad climber

Placerville, California

Sep 14, 2011 - 10:51am PT

in observing these men whom stand so strong,

my poise is encouraged.

in that, walter was a hero to me.

but so are many of you folks.

steveA

Trad climber

bedford,massachusetts

Sep 14, 2011 - 11:05am PT

Surely one of the greatest climbers of all time.RIP

Patrick Oliver

Boulder climber

Fruita, Colorado

Sep 14, 2011 - 11:14am PT

I am shaken, deeply. He was my friend. We stayed in contact,
after our first meeting in Buxton, England, in 1984, when we were guest
speakers for the national conference. As a boy at the brink of
climbing, I tore out articles I found in magazines of Bonatti,
with his dark black hair, for example, after he soloed the
North Face of the Matterhorn. That was a bold achievement.
He once said I could write a book about him, if I would come
to Italy and spend time with him. I then took three
semesters of university Italian but never got good at it.
My life was too much of a mess, it seems, then and later,
to get there, to Italy. I did make one trip, and saw Cassin, but
Walter was in Patagonia or somewhere at the time. In my heart
I worked on that book, wrote it within, an ongoing composition,
and felt I would make it to Italy again and see my now-white-haired
friend some day. He continued to write to me, in Italian. Each letter
I had carefully translated, one, in particular,
by two sources, my Italian-teacher girl friend Susanne,
and Reg Saner, poet/scholar. The two gave me virtually
identical interpretations, in which at
one point Walter said our meeting and time together in England
changed his view of "the younger generation." Interesting that
he would view me as part of the younger generation, when most
others saw me as representative of an era fading fast
into the golden dust. I can't tell you how much I cherish
that letter. One sentence of it: "Getting to know you has given
me the intelligence to remove from my mind certain pejudices --
or generalizations -- on the new climbing generations. You and
I speak the same language in the heart and soul." Imagine
receiving that, from the greatest alpinist of his day (if not
all time). I will never forget a three hour conversation we
had in the hotel in Buxton (just one of several long talks we
enjoyed during those three days). Merella Tenderini translated,
and then I played the piano for him. Walter liked that.
The music was a universal language and needed no translation.
After I finished my presentation, and Walter finished his,
we stood together to the side, but still in view of much
of the large crowd. Walter embraced me. With
hands on my shoulders, he said, in English, "You and I are
Alpha and Omega." According to Mirella, he had worked hard at
learning how to say that phrase and to be able to deliver it to
me. It had layers of meaning for him, I believe, not simply
the difference in our age, or that I was a pure rock
climber and he an alpinist, or that I was the first speaker
and he the last. Mirella delivered part of the sentence's
payload when she added later, "In the circle of life,
alpha and omega meet." It had to do with things
that could not be expressed.
What we share as climbers is sacred and beautiful. How lucky,
how blessed we are to have friends. How fortunate I have
been to meet and know the best.

Barbarian

Trad climber

The great white north, eh?

Sep 14, 2011 - 11:20am PT

Walter Bonatti was a hard man with a soft soul. He was a climber's climber and a true gentleman. He will be greatly missed by those who knew him and those who wished to know him.
His was truly a life well lived.
Rest in Peace, Mr. Bonatti. Rest well. You have earned it.

the goat

climber

north central WA

Sep 14, 2011 - 11:29am PT

Great climber, great man. I'm curious though, the picture of him and Messner together make Messner look huge. How tall was Walter?

Marlow

Sport climber

OSLO

Sep 14, 2011 - 11:50am PT

RIP. Walter Bonatti was a role model among mountain men and far beyond his own generation. A life well lived.

Patrick Oliver

Boulder climber

Fruita, Colorado

Sep 14, 2011 - 11:52am PT

Goat, you can see in the photo of Walter with me that he's about
my height, or slightly less. I was about 5'10 then (am shrinking
in old age). I think the photo of Walter with Messner is
a perspective thing, a kind of optical illusion, though Messner
is indeed taller.

howdy

Social climber

Donner Lake

Sep 14, 2011 - 11:53am PT

So sad, but what a life. Proof that you can be an old, bold climber if you do it right...

Rest well dear Walt.

Toker Villain

Big Wall climber

Toquerville, Utah

Sep 14, 2011 - 11:55am PT

Interesting Pat. I first met Walter in 1984 also. I had lunch with him and Tony Sortelli and Fred Beckey.

It was great, Fred was actually starstruck. I was so glad Tony was there to translate.

When I saw him again I had memorized some italian phrases. Big mistake!
He started firing back at me high speed and I was lost.
Charlie was there and his spanish was sufficient to have a crude conversation though, but when his wife Rosanna joined us we had the best translator of all. A big italian movie star, she actually played Helen of Troy in 1954, the year Walter was on K2.

K2 was a pivotal experience for Walter, who dwelled on it repeatedly. I was so glad when he was vindicated in recent years.

guido

Trad climber

Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific

Sep 14, 2011 - 12:37pm PT

The most honest climber of his generation. Many of us grew up with Bonatti as our hero and his loss reminds me of the sadness felt when Terray departed.

the goat

climber

north central WA

Sep 14, 2011 - 12:56pm PT

Pat, thank you for clarifying the height thing. Kinda thought it was the camera angle, similar to the shot on top of El Cap after the 1st ascent of the NA that makes Chouinard look twice as big as everyone else.

Bonatti's vision and commitment were unparalleled, what a life.

Plaidman

Trad climber

South Slope of Mt. Tabor, Portland, Oregon, USA

Sep 14, 2011 - 01:04pm PT

I loved the heart and soul of that guy. He is still one of my heros. A serious badass and a great climber too! When the going gets tough I think about Bonatti.

philo

Trad climber

Somewhere halfway over the rainbow

Sep 14, 2011 - 02:51pm PT

RIP Great one.

Reilly

Mountain climber

The Other Monrovia- CA

Sep 14, 2011 - 02:55pm PT

Was it Walter that said the great climbers die in their rocking chairs?

Toker Villain

Big Wall climber

Toquerville, Utah

Sep 14, 2011 - 02:58pm PT

Walter didn't stop adventuring. He went on safaris and river trips all over the world. He continued to climb too, but mostly on remote scrambles.

Largo

Sport climber

The Big Wide Open Face

Sep 14, 2011 - 03:06pm PT

the Stonemasters were largely influenced by Herman Buhl and Walter Bonatti. It was a highlight for many Stonemasters to repeat the master's routes in the Alps. Early on I remember trying to comb my hair like Walter.

A legend, or all mankind.

JL

Luca Signorelli

Mountain climber

Courmayeur (Vda) Italy

Sep 14, 2011 - 03:08pm PT

Walter didn't stop adventuring. He went on safaris and river trips all over the world. He continued to climb too, but mostly on remote scrambles.

Actually he continued climbing alpine routes at relatively high level even after 1965, but strictly following a "the public doesn't need to know about it" policy. His last hard climb in the Mont Blanc area was the Innominata Ridge (on the italian / Freney side) with some friend around 2006, when he was well into his 70's.

It's absolutely gutting to think that the last time I saw him and we chatted(at considerable length!) was just last April at a party in Courmayeur, and he was the picture of health, radiating good humour and energy all around.

Luca Signorelli

Mountain climber

Courmayeur (Vda) Italy

Sep 14, 2011 - 03:43pm PT

Pat:

at one point Walter said our meeting and time together in England
changed his view of "the younger generation." Interesting that
he would view me as part of the younger generation, when most
others saw me as representative of an era fading fast
into the golden dust.

He was following the then-standard Italian interpretation how climbing had evolved over XX century - Bonatti as the peak of the classic era, and everything following him - and in particular everything that had been growing in the Yosemite - as "anti classic", and thus anti Bonatti. Which is relatively ironic, considering that it's clear for anyone who has followed the history of US climbing that you guys were really following his steps - you weren't "anti classic" at ALL! Maybe with long hairs and different gear (which may have contributed to this misunderstanding) but still "adventure climbing", and not sport/hedonistic/risk free or whatever came after the 80's

I had the luck to discuss this quite a few times with him, and he made always clear that he saw himself - even in his prime in the late 50's - as the last of the old men, not the first of a brand new batch. His own was a stern "after me the deluge" view, because he felt that technology had took the lead after 1965, while his own had been the attempt to out-do the great climbers of the 1930's (Cassin but also Comici, Gervasutti, Soldà, Heckmair etc) but with just more or less the same gear(he had nylon ropes and Vibram instead of hemp and nailed boots, but admittedly there weren't game changing tools - and both Gervasutti and Cassin had used them). For instance, he frankly destested the whole idea behind piolet traction ("it's like aiding on ice") and he had little interest for any route opened that way.

But you're right saying that, after he began to frequent "younger" climber (i.e. anyone who had started climbing after he quit) he discovered that, even if the means were different, the spirit was more or less the same. He seemed to appreciate any attempt to revive the spirit of "total adventure, total commitment" that had driven him all his life (even after he left jet set climbing), but he still made clear cut separation between HIS alpinism and what had been climbing after him.

Marlow

Sport climber

OSLO

Sep 14, 2011 - 03:48pm PT

Largo,

I like your book, the Stonemasters, very much. I didn't know that the stonemasters were inspired by Bonatti and the alps, but I'm not surprised.

By the way the finsihing lines "Ultimately, Yabo had to jump off himself. Into the void went a rogue prince and a strand of memories I'll laugh, cry, and tremble about for the rest of my life" are among the best I have ever read.

Luca,

Thank you for the story.

Patrick Oliver

Boulder climber

Fruita, Colorado

Sep 14, 2011 - 03:56pm PT

Everyone who knew anything about climbing
was inspired by Bonatti. The name was running in
my circles from day one, with Kor and Culp
and all the others...
It would be interesting to repeat some of
Bonatti's achievements the way he did,
alone, the same "lack" of shoes, modern ice gear,
etc... Not sure it could be done.
What was it Messner said about the
North Face of the Matterhorn being a truly
great and difficult climb in that day
and the ways in which it was done?
To repeat it now would mean a whole lot less...

And thanks Luca for the thoughts... (edit) although
I'm not sure about your last paragraph,
which suggests he would have said the
same thing to any new climber he said to me...(maybe
you didn't mean that)?

JEleazarian

Trad climber

Fresno CA

Sep 14, 2011 - 04:11pm PT

He was a lifelong inspiration to me. I still have three of his blue-gated biners, which are now even more precious to me. He was a great climber and, more importantly, a great man. Rest in Peace, Mr. Bonatti.

John

Ihateplastic

Trad climber

It ain't El Cap, Oregon

Sep 14, 2011 - 05:26pm PT

Not only an incredible climber and explorer but damn handsome too! This chap was a true inspiration.

Ottawa Doug

Social climber

Ottawa, Canada

Sep 14, 2011 - 05:26pm PT

He was easily the best alpinist of his generation. A life well lived indeed!

RIP

Doug

O.D.

Trad climber

LA LA Land

Sep 14, 2011 - 05:54pm PT

Climb on, Mr. Bonatti.

moacman

Trad climber

Montana

Sep 14, 2011 - 06:16pm PT

Off belay....RIP...

Stevo

NFB

Mountain climber

Wilson, Wyoming

Sep 14, 2011 - 07:04pm PT

Every time I get cold or uncomfortable out in the hills I think of a high-school aged Bonatti sleeping out with his mates in the winter for "training". Bonatti will always be my climbing hero. RIP Mr. Bonatti.

From The Mountains of My Life, here are Bonatti's words:

"At exactly 12:30 P.M., we emerged on the highest peak of Gasherbrum IV, at 26,180 feet. We could scarcely stand erect on the narrow crest in the savage gusts of a gale that wanted tear the clothing off our backs. We embraced each other and then, with a gesture that was not at all mere rhetoric (as some people believe), we lifted the flags of Pakistan and Italy to flutter in the wind. Isn't it more dignified to fly national flags on a newly conquered summit rather than a sponsor's trademark?"

Jaybro

Social climber

Wolf City, Wyoming

Sep 14, 2011 - 09:18pm PT

Bonatti was the man.

Thanks for that!

rottingjohnny

Sport climber

mammoth lakes ca

Sep 14, 2011 - 10:12pm PT

Got one them blue gate Bonatti's on my dashboard..forgot to touch it today..

Scole

Trad climber

San Diego

Sep 14, 2011 - 10:18pm PT

One of the driving forces in climbing/mountaineering for several generations gone, but not forgotten. Bonati was so far beyond most of the climbers of his generation,that his route are still testpieces.

Long ago in patagonia, Scott Backes and I inadvertently arrived at a very remote estancia.The compound was surrounded by concertina wire, and heavily guarded by numerous men carrying automatic weapons. After a short wait, the patron arrived,an elderly male with a pronounced German accent: Our arrival was at first met with deep suspicion, until we mentioned that we were climbers. Once our announcement was made however, we were welcomed with open arms, and the question "do you know Walter Bonati"? I never had the privilege of meeting him, but his vision, long before most of us were born, helped shape modern alpinism.

Que' la via bien.

Urmas

Social climber

Sierra Eastside

Sep 14, 2011 - 10:22pm PT

Johnny, is that a Bonatti or a Bonaitti? Many confuse the two.

rottingjohnny

Sport climber

mammoth lakes ca

Sep 14, 2011 - 10:49pm PT

Urmas...Good Question..? I'll try and remember to look tomorrow...I think i have a couple of them and if you are interested i can give you one for an early xmas present..RJ

Sergio Colombo

Mountain climber

Red Rock

Sep 14, 2011 - 11:31pm PT

A little story about a great man.

One night, I was waiting for a table at the Outpost restaurant in Ouray. I was casually browsing the many pictures on the wall and suddenly one face stood out among all the climbers' pictures. Without even realizing it, I yelled "that's Walter Bonatti"! I guess I was loud enough that a large portion of the people at the tables and at the bar turned around to look at me.

Before I could even understand how Bonatti was ever at this restaurant and had his picture taken in there, one lady approached me and asked me "How do you know Walter?" I replied "well, I never met him in person but everyone who climbs knows who Walter Bonatti is".

She said "Actually, you are the first one who's ever noticed his picture on this wall. My last name is Bonatti too".

I don't remember exactly, but I think she was Walter's niece and the owner of the restaurant. Her grandfather was Walter's brother who moved to the U.S. before the second world war and never returned to Italy. Walter came to Ouray one time to meet part of the family he had never met before.

We spent an hour chatting together and she told me stories of when Walter came to the visit her and her family. I was so happy to listen to all of this.

I sat down for dinner, opened the menu and read the history of the Bonatti family arriving in the US from Italy. If you happen to be in Ouray, stop by the Outpost and see the pictures on the wall.

TYeary

Social climber

State of decay

Sep 15, 2011 - 12:20am PT

Wow is right. One of my first and lasting hero's.
The Iconic hard-man. I was glad Lacedelli put forth the true facts about Bonatti on K2 in, K2: The Price of Conquest (2004). His first ascent of Gash IV with Carlo Mauri small vindication. The climbing world has lost a great. RIP Walter.
TY

ms55401

Trad climber

minneapolis, mn

Sep 15, 2011 - 12:27am PT

the real deal and, in my opinion, the fountainhead of modern alpinism

mike m

Trad climber

black hills

Sep 15, 2011 - 12:28am PT

Read a book about Bonatti early in the my climbing career and I feel it has led me to take a more adventurous path.

Incidentally I think it may have been recommended to me by Pat when I bought it from the Boulder Mountianeer in the early 90's.

Luca Signorelli

Mountain climber

Courmayeur (Vda) Italy

Sep 15, 2011 - 12:56am PT

Pat:

although
I'm not sure about your last paragraph,
which suggests he would have said the
same thing to any new climber he said to me...(maybe
you didn't mean that)?

No, of course I didn't mean that - apologies for being unclear. Walter would have said that only to someone he felt close to his own vision, someone sharing his own fire. On the other hand, he wouldn't have said that to someone he felt had been "selling out" (for instance, I believe he had a lifelong distaste for sponsored climbers)

Bill Sherman

Mountain climber

Culver City, CA

Sep 15, 2011 - 01:36am PT

What a great man and so many great examples of alpinism in a pure sense and style. RIP

Jennie

Trad climber

Elk Creek, Idaho

Sep 15, 2011 - 05:28am PT

Reading about Mr Bonatti’s life, it’s quite sad some of his Italian rivals chose to disparage and belittle a great climber with profound humility and few pretensions.

From Compagnoni's accusation that Bonatti had attempted to sabotage he and Lacedelli’s summit attempt on K2 by using oxygen meant for the summit day... to Maestri’s insult in naming the Col of Conquest…saying “hope is the weapon of the weak, there is only the will to conquer” in reference to Walter’s naming of the Col of Hope on Cerro Torre in 1958.

I suppose competition exists in most climbing communities but why denigrate a great climber as decent, unassuming and forthright about his mistakes as Walter Bonatti?

Patrick Oliver

Boulder climber

Fruita, Colorado

Sep 15, 2011 - 07:56am PT

Well, Jennie, you have to understand the times, in part,
and how fiercely competitive some of these Italian "lads"
were. Each was, of course, a human being, with growing up
to do, with understanding to acquire through years of
experience, and some with a strangely deeply instilled pride.
In my limited experience, Walter was, as a mature
gentleman far beyond the prime of his mountaineering exploits,
able easily to say
he brought a few of his troubles on himself, even if they
weren't deserved. He had an arrogance in his youth that
put some off, probably. We all struggle to know who we
are when we're younger, and not always do we come away
with definitive answers. Yet this is the story of life, at its
best, when our experiences hone our spirits, when we
come to see better, when we progress, if you want to use
a word.... By the time I met Walter he was a very sensitive,
yet strong individual who had seen it all, who could look
more honestly at himself than when he was a young superstar.
Some of those others, I'm sure, became wiser, such as Cassin,
with whom I met and visited in Italy in '86. He was a
pretty mellow guy, active at climbing so old. Oh yes,
he still trained. It was in
his blood. His wife complained to me that he did leg lifts
in bed next to her as she tried to sleep. Someone like Maestre
is a more complicated story. He might have dug some holes
too difficult to grow out of, might have been a prisoner of
his own desire to be recognized. I'm not his judge. Something
about the Italians, how principled they are, or want to be,
yet the degree to which they prove as vulnerable and flawed
as the rest of humankind. It must be a severe conflict for
some of them. I can't imagine how much personal agony Walter
felt to be wrongly accused. But he knew there were people who
wanted to take him down, to bring him to a more reachable level.
The world seemed to look for any opportunity.
It seems the nature of the game and a fact of our microcosm
in society, that we try to find the failings of those who are
true and great individuals. The later years of Walter's life,
he wanted to bring his vast and beautiful perception and his
experience to people, wanted to share something mystical and
gorgeous through photography, for example. Some of that gave
us a glimpse of his soul, how deep it was, and the tender,
or should I say profound,
relationship this mighty warrior had with nature....
Late night ramblings....
Best to you, my friend...

steve shea

climber

Sep 15, 2011 - 09:28am PT

Jennie, Pat has it. If you look at the sructure of the Club Alpino Italiano , it is set up in sections. Each of the sections were destined to become competitive and territorial. Many of the sections had their own club within the club ie. Lecco Spiders etc. No wonder there was animosity and self serving behavior. Plus the funds available for internatonal expeditions were coveted by all parties and were usually bestowed on the biggest name with the grandest plan. But still very political. I met Bonatti in Courmayeur back in the 70's. We had just descended to Entreve from the French side after a climb and bumped into him at Grivel. We just shook hands but I felt in the presence of a true gentleman. RIP

Bldrjac

Ice climber

Boulder

Sep 15, 2011 - 09:38am PT

Years ago when I was learning the ropes of hard rock climbing and committing to the ideals of alpinism my partners (Hooman Aprin, Jim Orey, Dave Black and many others) and I would always ask the question "What would Bonatti do?" before we made a decision to either go on or retreat. He was our ultimate role model for how to climb with style and commitment in the mountains.
He always seemed to climb with purity and dignity.
One of the greatest alpinists ever. It's sad that he has passed on.

Marlow

Sport climber

OSLO

Sep 15, 2011 - 11:51am PT

From "Lacedelli and Cenacchi. K2: The price of conquest"

"To discover what was missing it would have been enough to question the witnesses. The problem is that nothing that has been said or written about K2 has ever been subjected to a rigorous historical interpretation, and most of the witnesses have never been questioned.

The only people who have been heard are those involved in the arguments, and then only when those arguments were actually in progress. As a consequence, it was not possible to get past the arguments.

This is a recurring problem in the way we Italians confront our recent past. Rarely do we consider history as an institutional or cultural question. On the contrary, we tend to think of it as a question of personal opinion, or worse, a private event of no concern to the general public. The consequence is that it is hard to make historical judgements, because these tend to be seen only as personal judgements. In order to write an account of the past, we have to wait until someone dies, someone forgets or someone loosens up. Only then, and with the blessing of the heirs, but still with the risk of being taken to court for libel, can we confront things"

ydpl8s

Trad climber

Santa Monica, California

Sep 15, 2011 - 05:46pm PT

His shoulders were definitely "giant ones" that, the greats that came later stand upon.

rottingjohnny

Sport climber

mammoth lakes ca

Sep 16, 2011 - 12:20am PT

Urmas...It's Bonaiti....

ms55401

Trad climber

minneapolis, mn

Sep 16, 2011 - 12:55am PT

J Brennan

that's a great story. Bonatti was a class act.

EdBannister

Mountain climber

13,000 feet

Sep 16, 2011 - 12:40pm PT

One of the smiliest people I ever met...
wonderful to talk to, a joy to be around,
thoughtful, very smart.
While others might be critical,
I never heard him say a bad thing about anybody,
and he had some very supportive and realistic things to say
about a certain abeit disputed Cerro Torre ascent.

His teeth were a little toooo straight though

Vitaliy M.

Mountain climber

San Francisco

Sep 16, 2011 - 01:14pm PT

sad news RIP

Patrick Oliver

Boulder climber

Fruita, Colorado

Sep 19, 2011 - 07:47am PT

It seems strange to me that this thread would go down and away
so fast. A few thoughts.

When Walter was a child he used to get away from his
home and/or school and go to a secret place where he could "watch
the eagles fly." He writes of the skies of the Prealps, and a pair
of eagle "predators" which had chosen for their nest a rock just above the
area where Walter played -- Vertova di Valseriana, one of the valleys
north of Bergamo (where he was born June 22, 1930). Farther
up the ridge was Mount Alben, a peak that triggered his imagination,
with its white limestone spires, often wreathed in mist. He came to
know nature, even, as he says, to "idolize" it, the beauty, the
austerity. From the beginning, the mountains were the perfect place
for Walter to develop. He followed an inherent need to test himself
and learn of his capabilities. Each climb made him feel all the
more alive, capable, and free. He found immediate fulfillment,
and especially, as the years went by, when he began to
climb solo. Here, he entered into what he has
referred to as "the very spirit of the mountains." Through
solo climbs he came to know his own true nature and began to
sense and realize his abilities. He realized his limits, as well.
He had no help from support parties. No rescue groups waited
out along the periphery of experience.
He would have to pay for any misakes he made. To
climb, for Bonatti, was equivalent to reflection. Much deep thought.
He says he listened to his own inner voice.

Bonatti wondered if he was born a loner... or became one. He did
become somewhat disillusioned by the actions of people, at times.

His truest adventures, as he has written, started from the moment
they took shape in his mind and imagination. It was for him then
to convert such visions into reality. Imagine a solo ascent of
the Dru, way back when he wore clunky Vibram boots, when
equipment was primitive. Robbins and Harlin could barely get up
that 3000-foot wall, with all their modern pitonware,
its sheer faces and horrid loose blocks (was
it more than 3000 feet?). Such a route would be perhaps roughly
equivalent to an early solo of El Capitan, before Harding and bolts.

Walter speaks eloquently about how no one else can ever have
your experience. Your experience remains yours alone.
That's why I harp so much
about the futility of comparisons, of one generation to another,
or one climber to another. Experience is individual, as is artistry.
His philosophy, while complex, had a certain basic outlay. He thought
in terms of three inseparable elements: aesthetics, history, and ethics.
This was long before the climbing world in general began to
develop its finer philosophies. He adds that these elements
ultimately lead to "victory over your own human fraility." I would
liken this somewhat to karate, which, at its best, is the perfection
of the self through the perfection of an art.

"Courage," Walter has written, "makes a person a master of his
or her fate." He defines courage as "a civilized,
responsible determination not to succumb to impending
moral collapse." He distinguishes such
courage from "ill-advised courage." Climbing, for Walter brimmed with
joy and exaltation. He notes he did many wonderful, safe ascents with
a tranquil mind. But adventure, he admits, teaches the true measure of a
man.

Walter describes his early life as difficult, during the Second World
War, a boy with no prospects facing life in a defeated country. It
was during this time he came to know the Grigna. I was blessed in
1986 to climb in the Grigna, where both Bonatti and Cassin
started out. With some well-seasoned Italian prophet-like gentlemen
I climbed striking aretes and pinnacles, as mist floated
in and about these rock formations. I sensed, or thought I could sense,
those early days when Bonatti was here, on these same routes, many
years earlier. When I first learned of Bonatti, he was a grown
man and I a boy in about 1960 or so. In 1965, I believe, I came
across a magazine article with photos of the handsome, dark-haired
man after he had climbed solo a new route on the North Face of the
Matterhorn, a route that, as Messner later would declare, was
a major achievement back then and under the conditions of those
days. Indeed climbers today (many at least)
don't realize how different the consciousness of the climbing world
was, and how much of a true adventure such a climb was then,
much less solo. I had just come into my own, as an American
free climber, when Bonatti said his farewell to extreme climbing,
after sixteen intense years.

To meet him in England in 1984, finally, spend three days with
him, become his friend, receive letters from him, was a blessing
I cannot begin to express. Walter Bonatti remains with me, in
my heart and memory. I am an incurable romantic. He isn't
gone. How could he be, as long as we remember him? Let's
just say... he has gone to watch the eagles fly.

Marlow

Sport climber

OSLO

Sep 19, 2011 - 08:13am PT

Pat

Thank you for your personal story. One day we will all have gone to watch the eagles fly - and that's alright.

Brian in SLC

Social climber

Salt Lake City, UT

Sep 19, 2011 - 12:06pm PT

Reilly

Mountain climber

The Other Monrovia- CA

Sep 19, 2011 - 12:34pm PT

I remember that photo - his solo of the Matterhorn N Face en hiver, n'est-ce pas?

Patrick Oliver

Boulder climber

Fruita, Colorado

Sep 20, 2011 - 02:47am PT

As Bonatti descended Gasherbrum IV:

"...it was about noon before we got near Camp 5. Some shouts
reached us. It was De Francesch and Zeni, who had stayed
there to wait for us. When they heard our answering shouts, our
two friends came out of their tent to meet us. There they
were -- like two ghosts, just a few paces from us. We spoke
to them, we embraced them, but suddenly De Francesch, blinded
by the blizzard, disappeared from sight and was swallowed by
the precipice. Petrified, I watched him plunge headlong in a
flurry of snow and vanish into the darkness of the storm. Then,
through a fleeting rift in the clouds, there below us was a
black dot rolling down the slope. It was
De Francesch's body. It vanished yet again. It reappeared even farther
down as a shrinking, indistinct dot. Finally it was still. No -- it was
moving. He wasn't dead! De Francesch had come to rest at least 700 feet
below us at the bottom of the slope. Now he was crawling through the
soft, deep snow that had saved him. He headed toward the col below
us. We joined him there. Miraculously, he was unhurt.
"That same afternoon we all went down to Camp 4 and there rejoined
our companions. Next morning, on we went to Camp 3, then Camp 2, and so
on until base camp. We reached it three days after the conquest of
Gasherbrum IV, still lashed by the storm of the monsoon."

(from "The Mountains of my Life")

DrDeeg

Mountain climber

Mammoth Lakes, CA

Sep 21, 2011 - 11:48am PT

Link to obituary at AAC

I spent 1965 studying and climbing in Europe. Bonatti did the winter solo of the North Face of the Matterhorn a week or so before John Morton, Bill Peppin and I skied for a week at Zermatt. Weather was clear but cold, and at that time of year the North Face would have been in the shade the entire day.

I had a wonderful Italian girlfriend in the Fall of 1965 when I was studying in Germany. She was from Bergamo, Bonatti's birthplace. I spent Christmas with her family there before hitchhiking eastward to India, but at the time I did not know Bonatti was her homeboy.

Spider Savage

Mountain climber

SoCal

Sep 27, 2011 - 08:31am PT

Very justly, his passing instantly made the cover and cover story of Italian Vanity Fair:

http://www.vanityfair.it/people/italia/2011/09/20/rossana-podest%C3%A0-walter-bonatti-scusa-se-non-te-l%27ho-detto

guido

Trad climber

Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific

Sep 27, 2011 - 11:55am PT

Wonder what the true definition of an Italian houseboy is?

McLinsky, aka, Russ McLean use to say, "if you really want to make a name for yourself in climbing, find the routes that Bonatti backed down from and climb them."

Reilly

Mountain climber

The Other Monrovia- CA

Sep 27, 2011 - 11:59am PT

How many would that have been? I do recall he backed off the Croz Spur about
6 times before doing it.

sberna

Trad climber

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Sep 27, 2011 - 03:16pm PT

"Hero", definition:

" 1. a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities. "
CHECK: at least from my point of view and as far as I could read from various books and from comments in this post other persons as well

" 2. a person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal: He was a local hero when he saved the drowning child. "
CHECK: facts: he saved some persons life on K2 and on the Alps.

DMT had doubts whether he was a hero... I bring some arguments above... may we have the counter-arguments?

Patrick Oliver

Boulder climber

Fruita, Colorado

Sep 27, 2011 - 03:30pm PT

Remember times were different then. They didn't have
modern ice gear, crampons, axes, tools, etc. It was
a hell of a lot harder to climb a face of mixed snow and
ice, with mostly just gloved hands, and boots, an axe,
and to others delicately roped, from scary single anchors,
or to go it alone... Sometimes backing off had to do with
conditions of the face, layered with a kind of ice that
was unclimbable, for example. One could retrace all of
Bonatti's steps and never be equal to them.
There is no doubt Bonatti was
a great individual with a strong disposition toward doing
things in style. We don't need the word "hero," especiallly,
because his actions were continuous and throughout his
climbing career and our respect not based on a mere moment
or given situation. It was the overall sense we had of
his greatness. One needs to read "The Mountains of my Life"
to get a feel of just a portion of Bonatti's life,
a truly remarkable one.

Small aside:
That photo on Vanity Fair looks so much like Charlie Fowler.
Strangely the two, Bonatti and Fowler, were alike in some
respects. Both had that bold spirit. Charlie did some amazing
soloes, for example the Diamond and DNB in Yosemite, and
Charlie showed he was a master at all forms of climbing,
racing up things like the Eiger and doing things in Patagonia,
but leading 5.12 in Eldorado....

Reilly

Mountain climber

The Other Monrovia- CA

Sep 27, 2011 - 04:04pm PT

Wonderfully put Mr. Ament. Thanks!

sberna

climber

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Sep 27, 2011 - 04:58pm PT

you are probably correct Patrick...
when I read DMT comment about not being an "hero" I gave it a somewhat negative/diminutive meaning

I liked what you wrote:
QUOTE We don't not need the word "hero," UNQUOTE

and Bonatti was probably not even looking for definitions like that, big labels or praises... I think he looked for justice, fairness, respect, true friendship and probably this is what he wanted to be remembered

when reading the latest books on the K2 issue I felt he was not in peace yet and unfortunately I did not know about the most recent developments... I am extremely happy that my "paesani" (CAI in primis) eventually cleared the entire events the way he hoped for: I am sure now he RIP

I certainly need to read again "The Mountains Of My Life" :-)

Patrick Oliver

Boulder climber

Fruita, Colorado

Sep 27, 2011 - 05:04pm PT

I can't imagine how anyone could ever quite get over
some of the tragedies and things that happened along the
way of his life. Yet as such a visible person in his day
it was only natural that many would find fault or try
to read things into events. A sensitive soul, I believe
it deeply hurt Walter to imagine anyone would question
his integrity. Even if all that stuff is/was worked out in
some supposed right way, I doubt he ever would have
lived it down and likely didn't. When one tries so very
hard to be the right person, and then things happen to
question that, it can be truly devastating. I think I
know a little about such stuff....

pk_davidson

Trad climber

Albuquerque, NM

Sep 28, 2011 - 02:21am PT

Bonatti was the only climbing hero I ever had. It was an honor to be part of the Piolet d'Or delegation that presented him a lifetime achievment award a couple of years ago.

Now that, is so cool Jim.
A lifetime award for him, a lifetime memory for you.

Need to go dig out some old blue & orange gates in tribute...

Luca Signorelli

Mountain climber

Courmayeur (Vda) Italy

Sep 29, 2011 - 01:54pm PT

The obituary I've written for UKC

http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=4098

Patrick Oliver

Boulder climber

Fruita, Colorado

Sep 29, 2011 - 05:06pm PT

Very nice job, Luca. I noticed the one passage about
his attitude changing, after contact with some English
speaking climbers. I hope I might have fit in there somewhere.
Those were amazing days, though only three, to be with
Bonatti in England. I cherish the long letters he wrote
me. I seriously chastize myself for never
taking him up on his invitation to Italy to do a book about him.
My life wasn't together enough then, though maybe had I gone
it would have been. Who knows...?

Luca Signorelli

Mountain climber

Courmayeur (Vda) Italy

Sep 29, 2011 - 05:10pm PT

Pat:

You definitely fit in ;)

Cheche

Big Wall climber

Mexico

Sep 30, 2011 - 12:45am PT

IMG_0211.JPG
Walter bonati fue uno de los escaladores que mas admire

Chief

climber

The NW edge of The Hudson Bay

Sep 30, 2011 - 02:29am PT

Walter was a revered and nigh mythical inspiration to most of us.
While we were generally short on the specifics of what it meant to emulate his approach, his name was synonymous with integrity, boldness and impeccable individual style.

With greatest respect,

RIP Mr. Bonatti

Charlie D.

Trad climber

Western Slope, Tahoe Sierra

Sep 30, 2011 - 09:00am PT

A spirit bigger than life, RIP Walter Bonatti
Thanks Luca for sharing your beautifully written glance at his extraordinary life.

Best,

Charlie D.

climber

Boulder, CO

Oct 18, 2011 - 09:25pm PT

Several noted, in error here, and one corrected regarding the "Bonatti" carabiners.
Actually, they are "Bonaiti" with the error intentional, to trick buyers into thinking he had any connection with the company capitalizing on his reputation.
It obviously worked, but I'm pretty sure he never made a dime from that business; probably too polite to sue.
I can't recall any other climber so unequivocally quitting their extreme game so publically as he did. He could obviously keep climbing safely at a standard above most others, but carved out a career as an adventure journalist instead, apparently without regret, and like Cassin and Messner, lived quite a long time after others died in the mountains. Hard to choose which end is more fitting, I suppose, but I recall some other famous climber who thought that dying in the mountains would negate a lifetime of hard ascents, because it would imply your successes were due to foolhardy recklessness, rather than talent or calculation.
"Raise your cup, drink it up, drown your sorrows,
and sow your wild oats while you may,
For the toothless old tykes of tomorrow
Were the tigers of yesterday." Tom Patey RIP

Luca Signorelli

Mountain climber

Courmayeur (Vda) Italy

Oct 20, 2011 - 04:19pm PT

@AE: actually, Bonaiti (from 1977 onward the name of the climbing gear branch is KONG) is a very old (established 1830) and respected company who has always dealt with making steel devices (mainly safety tools, door locks and steel strips/cables). They began making climbing gear (mostly krabiners but also pitons etc) well before Bonatti was famous. They may have enjoyed a bit of indirect publicity because of the similarity of the name, but believe me, that was accidental!

Also, Bonatti was all but lawyer-shy if he felt anyone was trying to double cross him or steal from him. Not someone you would have liked to mess with...

Chris Jones

Social climber

Glen Ellen, CA

Oct 21, 2011 - 09:12pm PT

At Chamonix in August of 1964, I was almost out of both vacation time and climbing partners. Not wanting to hang around in town, I volunteered to carry supplies up to the Leschaux Hut for Dougal Haston and John Harlin, who were to attempt the then-unclimbed ice face, the Shroud, on the Grandes Jorasses. A spell of improving weather was drawing a galaxy of climbers to the Leschaux Hut. Apart from Harlin and Haston, Pierre Mazeaud and his Italian partner Roberto Sorgato were there for the Walker Spur, as were Walter Bonatti and his Swiss partner Michel Vaucher, who were to attempt the unclimbed Pointe Whymper. (Years later I learned that Rene Desmaison and partner were bivouacked out in the nearby boulders, hoping to steal a march on one team or another). I was in awe of all these guys - they were legends in their own time. Bonatti was known to British climbers not only for his stunning ascents, but very much for the tragedy on the Central Pillar of Fresnay. That story had riveted not only the climbing world, but all of Europe. And of course Pierre Mazeaud had been with him on that climb and horrific retreat, where four of the party of seven died. They appeared to have a very friendly rapport. Mazeaud, quite the soul of the party, was handing out cigars to everyone. Bonatti and Vaucher seemed to emanate calm. As people turned in for bed, the mood in the hut was apprehensive. History was in the making.

I was so gripped that I don't think I slept - and all I had to do was walk down to the valley in the morning. I was wide awake when Bonatti leaned over to Vaucher and said: "Michel, c'est l'heure." "Oui," came the reply, and with that they packed their sacks, took a swig of water, and were away. Later that day I scanned the face, but saw no sight of them. Down in the valley, the talk was all off the worsening weather and what was happening on the Pointe Whymper. None of us then knew of their epic struggle, with cut ropes, rockfall, and injury. But once again Bonatti prevailed.

I have never forgotten those hours at the Leschaux Hut, nor Walter Bonatti. They changed my life.

Mighty Hiker

climber

Vancouver, B.C.

Oct 21, 2011 - 09:36pm PT

Thanks, Chris - it sounds like you were at an impressionable age then.

Patrick Oliver

Boulder climber

Fruita, Colorado

Oct 22, 2011 - 12:35am PT

Excellent post, Chris.

Marlow

Sport climber

OSLO

Oct 22, 2011 - 04:28am PT

I could feel the thrill while reading: "Michel, c'est l'heure."

Luca Signorelli

Mountain climber

Courmayeur (Vda) Italy

Oct 22, 2011 - 05:01am PT

@Chris Jones

You may like to check this - it's a 8mm movie shot on August 10,1964, from a guy who used to live Courmayeur, showing Walter's arrival in Val Ferret after climbing the Whymper rib with Vaucher

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AkixyQHWrg

Marlow

Sport climber

OSLO

Oct 22, 2011 - 09:57am PT

Addio Walter - http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=K8nThRL0-n8

survival

Big Wall climber

A Token of My Extreme

Oct 22, 2011 - 10:19am PT

Holy buckets of history Batman!

Thanks for that post Chris. I was a little gripped 45 years later waaaay over here in New Mexico!

Steve Grossman

Trad climber

Seattle, WA

Dec 24, 2011 - 01:16pm PT

Grand Alpinism bump!

Inspiring story Chris!

Rick A

climber

Boulder, Colorado

Dec 24, 2011 - 05:48pm PT

Missed Chris' story when it was first posted. Amazing to think of so many of the great alpinists of that time all together and vying for unclimbed, plum lines on the Jorasses.

Luca's obituary surveys Bonatti's great climbs and is lucid account of a remarkable life:

http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=4098

Toker Villain

Big Wall climber

Toquerville, Utah

Dec 24, 2011 - 07:02pm PT

I have 3 Brad Washburn prints including his all time favorite, the North Face of the Grandes Jorasses.

It was shot in August of 1958.

I look at it and think of Walter having to fourth class because the rope was cut and tied together in 5 places, of a hundred meter tower cutting loose and just missing them,...

Sheesh!

Marlow

Sport climber

OSLO

Jan 28, 2012 - 04:27am PT

FINIS TERRAE, WALTER BONATTI (1999)

Walter Bonatti, l'un des alpinistes légendaires de notre époque, nous emmène vers les sommets vertigineux de la Cordillère des Andes. La Patagonie et la Terre de Feu, irriguées par d'immenses plaines de glace se précipitant dans l'eau au milieu d'un fracas de fin du monde, sont surmontées par les « hurlements pétrifiés » du Balmaceda, du Fitz Roy et du Cerro Torre. Alternant des scènes historiques filmées par Alberto de Agostini à l'assaut de ces montagnes alors inconnues, et les progressions de Walter Bonatti dans ces lieux à couper le souffle, Fulvio Mariani réalise un film fascinant tourné dans les décors sublimes des glaciers Upsala, Viedma, sur le Hielo Patagonico Sur, jusqu'au sommet du Cerro Torre. FINIS TERRAE, réalisé en 1999, est servi par des images magnifiques et par la somptueuse musique de Enrico Caruso et Philip Glass.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xlcdya_walter-bonatti-1_sport?ralg=meta2-only#from=playrelon-12

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xakyb6_bande-annonce-du-film-finis-terrae_sport

http://www.amazon.fr/gp/product/B004CYY5YW/ref=pe_4231_28534761_snp_dp

Marlow

Sport climber

OSLO

Sep 19, 2012 - 05:12pm PT

A glass for the great one!
[Click to View YouTube Video]

Marlow

Sport climber

OSLO

Feb 20, 2013 - 04:27pm PT

A Walter Bonatti interview from AlpiRando 93 December 1986.

Marlow

Sport climber

OSLO

Feb 23, 2013 - 04:54pm PT

Sfide - Walter Bonatti. Al di là delle nuvole.
[Click to View YouTube Video]

Steve Grossman

Trad climber

Seattle, WA

Mar 31, 2013 - 11:56am PT

Bonatti Bump...

Marlow

Sport climber

OSLO

Apr 16, 2013 - 11:58am PT

Walter Bonatti interviewed in Vertical Nov 1996

Marlow

Sport climber

OSLO

May 29, 2013 - 03:55pm PT

1954, Bonatti e l'enigma del K2 (2/4)
[Click to View YouTube Video]

Steve Grossman

Trad climber

Seattle, WA

May 29, 2013 - 11:36pm PT

Marlow- You are going to make me learn French yet! LOL

Reilly

Mountain climber

The Other Monrovia- CA

May 30, 2013 - 01:14am PT

Steve, French isn't gonna help you much with Marlow's last offering. ;-)

Marlow

Sport climber

OSLO

May 31, 2013 - 12:05pm PT

Pilier Rouge du Brouillard Mont-Blanc voie Walter Bonatti Andrea Oggioni

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6uwotYgiqU&feature=player_detailpage

Part 2:
[Click to View YouTube Video]

Part 3:
[Click to View YouTube Video]

LongAgo

Trad climber

May 31, 2013 - 08:19pm PT

For those such as me who knew him only by his books, magazine articles, and fuzzy film of old days but who brought us heightened passion for the mountains and deepened for us the very essence of climbing by his spirit and achievements, his death is galling. As I look to the pictures of him on this thread, I rail to think he is gone. How, I ask, can such a giant of the peaks, a man so vital, inspiring and physically beautiful through all his days be taken by something as common and inexplicable as death? I wanted him, no expected him against all reason, to live forever. Now I can offer only paltry words – goodbye great one.

Tom Higgins
LongAgo

Reilly

Mountain climber

The Other Monrovia- CA

May 31, 2013 - 08:21pm PT

Well, Mr Higgins, if it is any consolation, I believe Walter did say,

"The great climbers die in their rocking chairs."

LongAgo

Trad climber

Jun 2, 2013 - 02:03pm PT

And in my mind, he rocks on.

Marlow

Sport climber

OSLO

Jun 17, 2013 - 01:57pm PT

Rifugio Alpino Walter Bonatti, Courmayeur: http://www.rifugiobonatti.it/

Marlow

Sport climber

OSLO

Jun 22, 2013 - 03:50pm PT

Good stuff from old films
[Click to View YouTube Video]

Marlow

Sport climber

OSLO

Jun 24, 2013 - 02:01pm PT

mouse from merced

Trad climber

The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.

Aug 4, 2013 - 11:18pm PT

A bump for the Petit Dru's survivor.

The man's record is just amazing.

So is the one by Enya, Marlow; thanks for posting that.

Perché senza sottotitoli?

kaholatingtong

Trad climber

Nevada City

Aug 5, 2013 - 12:36am PT

legendary. re reading mountains of my life blew my mind, again.

Marlow

Sport climber

OSLO

May 15, 2014 - 08:42am PT

Bonatti photo - Rebuffat style

Marlow

Sport climber

OSLO

Jun 21, 2014 - 11:01am PT

Walter Bonatti in L'Equipe Magazine no 1011, 2001

donini

Trad climber

Ouray, Colorado

Jun 21, 2014 - 02:49pm PT

A half century ago when i first got into climbing i was inspired by alpine climbers like Terray, Gervasutti, Buhl and, most of all, Bonatti.....he seemed like a god to me.

I met him four years ago when I served on the jury of the Piolet d' Or....he was the most strikingly handsome 80 year old i had ever seen.

Marlow

Sport climber

OSLO

Oct 8, 2014 - 01:34pm PT

Walter Bonatti au pilier des Drus 1955
[Click to View YouTube Video]

Marlow

Sport climber

OSLO

Dec 22, 2014 - 10:25am PT

Grand Capucin - Voie Bonatti Ghigo - Massif du Mont Blanc

[Click to View YouTube Video]
[Click to View YouTube Video]
What a route!

Marlow

Sport climber

OSLO

Jun 16, 2015 - 10:31am PT

Hommage à W-Bonatti - Piolets d'Or 2012
[Click to View YouTube Video]

Reilly

Mountain climber

The Other Monrovia- CA

Jun 16, 2015 - 10:58am PT

What a route!

D'accord! E un tour de force du route-finding, n'est ce pas?

Tres belle videos!

Marlow

Sport climber

OSLO

Sep 24, 2015 - 12:45pm PT

Grandes Jorasses

In four days of climb, between the 6 and 10 August 1964, Bonatti climbed for the first time the Pointe Whymper (one of the six summits of the Grandes Jorasses) together with Michel Vaucher. The climb (known today as Bonatti-Vaucher route) is still considered very technical and difficult. It is classified as ED alpine grade and consists of 1,100 metres (3,600 ft) of rock-climbing rated UIAA VI, several sections of mixed ground quoted M6 (vertical to overhanging with difficult dry tooling) and with some pitches of A2 aid climbing. This difficult climb would be repeated in winter in 1976 by Pierre Béghin and Xavier Fargeas. In 1977 Pierre Béghin would solo the route in winter.

Ritorno dalle Jorasses
[Click to View YouTube Video]

In 1980 Bonatti met the former actress Rossana Podestà in Rome and they soon relocated to Dubino, a small town in the Alps.

Bonatti, aged 81, died alone at a private clinic where the hospital management would not allow his partner of more than 30 years spend the last minutes of his life together because the two were not married. His funeral took place in Lecco on 18 September 2011, where he was cremated and the ashes interred in the cemetery of Porto Venere.

Reilly

Mountain climber

The Other Monrovia- CA

Sep 24, 2015 - 01:40pm PT

the hospital management would not allow his partner of more than 30 years spend the last minutes of his life together because the two were not married

They do that in Europe, too? Quelle horreur!

When is the UN going to declare a 'Year Without Lawyers'?

Marlow

Sport climber

OSLO

Dec 3, 2015 - 10:25am PT

Matterhorn North Wall - February 1965

In February 1965, Bonatti tried with two companions to climb a new, direct route on Matterhorn Nordwand (north face)[13] but the team was turned around by storm. Back in the valley his two friends had to leave. He considered his options then set off on 18 February 1965 for a second attempt alone. Five days later he emerged on the summit, having completed a demanding climb of 1.200 metres rated ED+.

Shortly after the climb, Walter Bonatti announced his retirement from professional climbing at the age of 35 and after only 17 years of climbing activity.

This climb has been since rarely repeated solo and in winter, the two most notable repetitions being perhaps:

February 1994: Catherine Destivelle in four days;

March 2006: Ueli Steck in 25 hours.

27. September 2011: Patrik Aufdenblatten and Michi Lerjen-Demjen in 7 hours and 14 minutes.

Marlow

Sport climber

OSLO

Dec 21, 2015 - 04:20am PT