Silvio Mondinelli
Encyclopedia
Silvio Mondinelli is an Italian mountaineer. In the year 2007, he became the 13th person to climb the 14 eight-thousander
Eight-thousander
The eight-thousanders are the fourteen independent mountains on Earth that are more than high above sea level. They are all located in the Himalayan and Karakoram mountain ranges in Asia....

s. He is the 6th person to accomplish that feat without the use of supplementary oxygen. He was 49 years old when he summited the last of the 14 summits, an ordeal he started in 1993 and finished in 2007.

Broad Peak
Broad Peak
Broad Peak , is the 12th highest mountain on Earth, with an elevation of 8,051 meters . The literal translation of "Broad Peak" to Faichan Kangri is not accepted among the Balti people.- Geography :...

 was the last peak he conquered to cement his place among the rare climbers who summited the 14 highest points on Earth.

Career

Mondinelli began his mountaineering career by making several ascents in the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....

, especially Monte Rosa
Monte Rosa
The Monte Rosa Massif is a mountain massif located in the eastern part of the Pennine Alps. It is located between Switzerland and Italy...

. In 1981 he became an Alpine Guide and from 1987 to 1991 he worked an a guide instructor. In 1984 he began climbing mountains outside of Europe, especially in North and South America, the Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...

, and Karakorum
Karakorum
Karakorum was the capital of the Mongol Empire in the 13th century, and of the Northern Yuan in the 14-15th century. Its ruins lie in the northwestern corner of the Övörkhangai Province of Mongolia, near today's town of Kharkhorin, and adjacent to the Erdene Zuu monastery...

. 2001 was undoubtedly one of the most important years of his career: in only five months he climbed four 8,000 meters peaks: Everest, Gasherbrum I
Gasherbrum I
Gasherbrum I , also known as Hidden Peak or K5, is the 11th highest peak on Earth, located on the Pakistan-China border in Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan and Xinjiang region of China. Gasherbrum I is part of the Gasherbrum massif, located in the Karakoram region of the Himalaya...

, Gasherbrum II
Gasherbrum II
Gasherbrum II , also known as K4, is the 13th highest mountain on Earth, located on the border of Gilgit-Baltistan province, Pakistan and Xinjiang, China...

 and Dhaulagiri
Dhaulagiri
Dhaulagiri is Earth's seventh highest mountain at ; one of fourteen over eight thousand metres. Dhaulagiri was first climbed May 13, 1960 by a Swiss/Austrian expedition....

. One of the few to have accomplished such a feat and the only Italian to have done so. On 25 July 2004 he reached the peak of K2
K2
K2 is the second-highest mountain on Earth, after Mount Everest...

 (8611 m) and declared the success of the "K2 2004–50 years later" expedition.
Mondinelli prepares his enterprises in extreme detail, beginning with training. Every day he runs uphill: 1200 meters difference in altitude, combined during the winter with Alpine skiing. In the evening he does one hour on the stationary bicycle to recover and loosen up his muscles. Gnaro is known not only for never having used oxygen during his climbs, but also for his extreme humanitarian gestures. During his expeditions he has often rescued other climbers in difficulty, often risking the success of his own expedition.

Notable summits
  • 1984. Puscanturpa, North Face (6090m)
  • 1993. Manaslu
    Manaslu
    Manaslu , also known as Kutang) is the eighth highest mountain in the world, and is located in the Mansiri Himal, part of the Nepalese Himalayas, in the west-central part of Nepal. Its name, which means "Mountain of the Spirit", comes from the Sanskrit word Manasa, meaning "intellect" or "soul"...

    , South Face (8156m)
  • 1994. Mount McKinley
    Mount McKinley
    Mount McKinley or Denali in Alaska, United States is the highest mountain peak in North America and the United States, with a summit elevation of above sea level. It is the centerpiece of Denali National Park and Preserve.- Geology and features :Mount McKinley is a granitic pluton...

     (6194m) – Lhotse
    Lhotse
    Lhotse is the fourth highest mountain on Earth and is connected to Everest via the South Col. In addition to the main summit at 8,516 metres above sea level, Lhotse Middle is and Lhotse Shar is...

     (8596m)
  • 1996. Shisha Pangma (8013m)
  • 1997. Aconcagua
    Aconcagua
    Aconcagua is the highest mountain in the Americas at . It is located in the Andes mountain range, in the Argentine province of Mendoza and it lies west by north of its capital, the city of Mendoza. The summit is also located about 5 kilometres from San Juan Province and 15 kilometres from the...

     (6959m) – Cho Oyu
    Cho Oyu
    Cho Oyu is the sixth highest mountain in the world at above sea level. Cho Oyu lies in the Himalayas and is 20 km west of Mount Everest, at the border between China and Nepal...

     (8201m)
  • 2000. Ama Dablam
    Ama Dablam
    Ama Dablam is a mountain in the Himalaya range of eastern Nepal. The main peak is , the lower western peak is . Ama Dablam means "Mother's necklace"; the long ridges on each side like the arms of a mother protecting her child, and the hanging glacier thought of as the dablam, the traditional...

     (6812m)
  • 2001. Mount Everest
    Mount Everest
    Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...

     South slope (8848m) – Gasherbrum II
    Gasherbrum II
    Gasherbrum II , also known as K4, is the 13th highest mountain on Earth, located on the border of Gilgit-Baltistan province, Pakistan and Xinjiang, China...

     (8035m) – Gasherbrum I
    Gasherbrum I
    Gasherbrum I , also known as Hidden Peak or K5, is the 11th highest peak on Earth, located on the Pakistan-China border in Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan and Xinjiang region of China. Gasherbrum I is part of the Gasherbrum massif, located in the Karakoram region of the Himalaya...

     (8068m) – Dhaulagiri
    Dhaulagiri
    Dhaulagiri is Earth's seventh highest mountain at ; one of fourteen over eight thousand metres. Dhaulagiri was first climbed May 13, 1960 by a Swiss/Austrian expedition....

     (8156m)
  • 2002. Makalu
    Makalu
    Makalu is the fifth highest mountain in the world at and is located southeast of Mount Everest, on the border between Nepal and China...

     (8463m)
  • 2003. Kanchenjunga (8586m)
  • 2004. K2
    K2
    K2 is the second-highest mountain on Earth, after Mount Everest...

     (8611m)
  • 2005. Nanga Parbat
    Nanga Parbat
    Nanga Parbat is the ninth highest mountain on Earth, the second highest mountain in Pakistan and among the eight-thousanders with a summit elevation of 8,126 meters...

     (8125m)
  • 2006. Shisha Pangma (8013m) – Lhotse (8516m) – Annapurna
    Annapurna
    Annapurna is a section of the Himalayas in north-central Nepal that includes Annapurna I, thirteen additional peaks over and 16 more over ....

     (8091m)
  • 2007. Broad Peak
    Broad Peak
    Broad Peak , is the 12th highest mountain on Earth, with an elevation of 8,051 meters . The literal translation of "Broad Peak" to Faichan Kangri is not accepted among the Balti people.- Geography :...

     (8051m).

Charitable work

In 2001, Mondinelli was among the founders of the "Amici del Monterosa ", the non-profit organisation that deals in developing the living conditions of the Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...

ese people. In addition to maintaining the Namche Bazar School, the "Amici del Monterosa" were also involved in the construction of the Makelu hospital district in the region of Dhading (2005).

In the near future, the "Amici del Monterosa" are planning the construction of a professional school for tourism and hotel management in the vicinity of Katmandu..
Mondinelli, along with a team of expert mountaineers, climbers and researchers, has founded the High Mountain University, in Alagna
Alagna
Alagna is a comune in the Province of Pavia in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 40 km southwest of Milan and about 20 km west of Pavia. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 876 and an area of 8.6 km²....

, Lombardy, the first high mountain school open to all upland aficionados.

External links

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