Climbing Quote of the Week: Walter Bonatti
There is a good case that alpinist Walter Bonatti, born in Bergamo, Italy in 1930, was the greatest mountaineer of the 20th century. He called his climbing philosophy "the pursuit of the impossible." In a short climbing career from 1949 until the mid-1960s Bonatti pulled off an amazing number of audacious ascents and more remarkably survived some horrific climbs that killed his partners. Some of his ascents include the Grandes Jorasses in 1949; a 1953 winter ascent of the north faces of Tres Cima Laverado in the Dolomites; the controversial Italian expedition to K2 in 1954, where he aided two other Italians who made the first ascent of the peak; an ascent of Gasherbrum IV in 1958; and, in 1965, a solo winter first ascent of a direct line up the north face of The Matterhorn.
This quote comes from Bonatti’s 1998 book The Mountains of My Life, a collection of essays, memoirs, and articles about his greatest ascents including the true story who happened on K2. The book, cobbled together over 40 years, is an intriguing read about lots of great adventures. If you pick the book up and read it, it’s worth remembering as you read that Bonatti, besides being a skilled and bold climber, was a consummate loner and maverick. One of his reasons to climb was to avoid humanity. As he writes, “My disappointments came from people, not the mountains.” Echoes of that sentiment are in this quote.
“For me, the value of a climb is the sum of three inseparable elements, all equally important: aesthetics, history, and ethics. Together they form the whole basis of my concept of alpinism. Some people see no more in climbing mountains than an escape from the harsh realities of modern times. This is not only uninformed but unfair. I don’t deny that there can be an element of escapism in mountaineering, but this should never overshadow its real essence, which is not escape but victory over your own human frailty.”
Buy a book by Walter Bonatti:
The Mountains of My Life A classic collection of adventure stories from the master climber.
Photo above: Walter Bonatti and The Matterhorn North Face.
Photo courtesy Walter Bonatti Collection
Comments
Gasherbrum IV was climbed in 1958. [Oh, what a p*ssant I can be. Sometimes....]
You’re right. And I appreciate the correction. I knew it was 1958 and wrote 48. Brain fart!
[Sorry for being such a nitpicker, but IMHO it's important to have the facts right. Even when it's a minor issue.]
Apart from Bonatti being more than just a splendid climber, his approach and “ethics” are important. The defining of the philosophy of adventures, if you will. He’s proved his point beyond doubt.
That’s why I appreciate you came up with this neat little piece, as we all know history has been quite harsh on the legend. For that matter, the link pointing to some books on K2 [of which I have a vast library] also highlights the Cenacchi book in which Lino makes his “confessions”. Try and read it again from the angle of a climbers approach and you’ll see he’s still not telling all that happened during the shifting of Camp IX and Bonatti’s and Mahdi’s bivouac. Lacedelli maybe is trying to clear his conscience there but he’s still making cover up. Maybe we should try and get Achille to tell all, but the old man may not be of the type of character that is inclined to do that. And not after all these years…
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Cheers! Sandra. R.