News
Passing the Baton
(21.12.2009)We are publishing the words of guide, Valerio Bertoglio with whom we have been working for several years on the Escuela de Alta Montaña "Don Bosco en los Andes" project – courses to train young men from the Andes to become High Mountain Guides - in collaboration with Operazione Mato Grosso.
"I taught them to run on the mountains and some of them have learned this art well.
They were born at an altitude of 3000 metres and when they want to, they can go fast.
They are the young guides from the Escuela Don Bosco en los Andes di Marcarà, founded by Padre Ugo de Censi, also founder of Operazione Mato Grosso.
The first group of boys began the course in 2000 and now seven of them are guides, five are aspiring guides and ten or so are porters.
Felipe Paulino, a quiet man but someone with clear ideas, began by linking three climbs together on the mountains of the Ishinca Valley: Tocllarraju (6032 m), Ishinca (5530 m), Urus (5420 m) in just under 14 hours.
Then Jaime Ramires astounded everyone on Aconcagua. His courage was rewarded with an ascent and descent from Horcones to the peak of Aconcagua in 14 hours and 59 minutes (that is 80 km and a difference in altitude of 8000 metres!).
He was accompanied on this feat by Cesar Rosales, who soon developed a taste for this activity and so it was that in 2008, a small expedition set out from Marcarà to attempt the summit of Chimborazo, the highest mountain in Ecuador, in the shortest time possible. In 2 hours and 38 minutes, Cesar made the summit and back from the Carrel refuge!
Exploration continued in 2009 in Bolivia. On 3 October, a team from the Escuela Don Bosco together with Cesar set a new speed record for the most climbed mountain in the Cordillera Real, Huayna Potosì (6088 m).
The climbers took two days to complete the ascent of Huayna Potosì. The route was approved by the Bolivian Ski and Mountaineering Federation and the Club Andino Boliviano. .
After an initial reconnaissance of the peak, the route was organised, dividing the group along the way.
On 3 October, in splendid weather conditions, Cesar Rosales set out from the Huayna Potosì Refuge (4750 m), which marks the end of the road, at 5 a.m., arriving at the bivouac (5290 m) at 5:33, and summiting at 6:42. Back at the Refuge, the stopwatch showed an overall time of 2 hours, 21 minutes and 44 seconds.
The previous record of about eight hours belonged to no less than Walter Bonatti but that was almost forty years before: now at a pit stop, they can change boots and put on crampons in under two minutes.
I am passing on the baton, fully aware that for some years, on the Alps, the idea of bringing athletics and climbing together has led to a new kind of mountain experience. Speed as a way to overcome one’s own limits, as a dimension of climbing. Not that this is all new: many great climbers have completed great ascents at speed. However, there is a time for everything, a time to run and a time to teach running. This has happened in Peru, in Argentina and in Bolivia. I am happy to see the interest of these strong, young men and their wish to try their hand at the athletic side of climbing. Talented and used to hard work, they have soon learned the need for continuity in training.
The athletic performances of the Marcarà groups on South America’s mountains is also an extension of their work as high mountain guides. They are athletes but also and above all, young men who are going to live better lives than their fathers before them."
Valerio Bertoglio
About Valerio Bertoglio
After practising track sports for years, Valerio Bertoglio started climbing. Mixing these two sporting disciplines led to his initial feats in this field, including - in 1988 – a non-stop climb of Gran Paradiso and Monte Rosa. In 1989 he consecutively climbed the four north faces of the Gran Paradiso Group in 12 hours: Gran Paradiso – North Face 46'; Ciarforon - via Chiara 40'; Becca di Monciair – North Face 31'; Denti del Broglio – North Face 1h 03'. This marked the start of a career that now numbers over 1250 alpine skiing trips, 550 rock, ice and mixed wall climbs – including more than 80 north faces, 13 new routes, 2 winter records and over 100 ice falls, most of which untied. A career crowned by some unforgettable achievements.
