Mountaineering: From Walter Bonatti to Alison Hargreaves, the human side of Mountain Myths
From the Alps to Derbyshire. Feats, triumphs, defeats, and solitude of mountaineering legends in the latest book by Italian journalist Antonio Panei, grandson of Mont Blanc alpine guide and Courmayeur ski instructor Gigi Panei.
Alison Hargreaves, the strong mountaineer from Derbyshire, is one of the protagonists in the book “In cima a sé stessi” (To the top of themselves) by Italian journalist Antonio Panei. In this publication, published by La Bussola in Rome, a human and athletic profile of Alison Hargreaves is drawn: her youth in Belper, her first climbs in the Cairngorms and Ben Nevis, her ascent of the Eiger with her child in tow, her victory on Everest, and the tragic end on K2 in 1995. In addition to Hargreaves' story, the book recounts the personal histories and achievements of other mountain legends: from Walter Bonatti to Reinhold Messner, from Woytek Kurtyka to Wanda Rutkiewicz.
But what do Hargreaves and these mountaineering myths have in common? All of them, through their climbs, not only conquered peaks but also delved deep within themselves, exploring the unconscious in an introspective psychological journey that led them, as the book's title suggests, "to the top of themselves." The book contains 20 short stories of great mountaineering, and Alison Hargreaves' story is one of heart and soul. Her climb of the North Face of the Eiger caused an uproar because she did it while pregnant, but she responded to her critics: "I am pregnant, not ill." The son she carried while climbing the Eiger, Tom Ballard, one of the strongest climbers of recent years, also became a victim of the mountain, on Nanga Parbat in 2019.
Antonio Panei is a Disciplinary Advisor for the Order of Journalists of Lazio and comes from a family of mountaineers from Abruzzo. His father was a downhill skier, while his uncle, Gigi Panei, was one of the first ski instructors in Courmayeur, an alpine guide on Mont Blanc, and a climbing partner of Walter Bonatti in the Alps. In the book, alongside the portrait of Alison Hargreaves, with illustrations by architect and graphic designer Veronica Cristofoletti, the triumphs and tragedies of mountaineering are recounted: the daring attempt by Englishman Maurice Wilson to conquer Everest; Joe Simpson's incredible survival in the Andes; the tragedy of the French climbers Vincendon and Henry on the Freney; and the mysterious disappearance of Polish climber Wanda Rutkiewicz in the Himalayas