LANFRI - ACONCAGUA 6.960 M - en
FERRINO AMBASSADOR ANDREA LANFRI REACHES THE SUMMIT OF ACONCAGUA TWICE
On January 16, the multi-amputee Italian mountaineer climbed the highest mountain in South America for the first time, but was unable to take pictures from the summit. Six days later, on January 22, he repeated the climb, ascending alone in 9 hours from camp 2 and capturing his success with some wonderful photos next to the summit cross.
On January 22 in 2015, Andrea Lanfri was struck by meningitis with meningococcal sepsis. He began a medical battle that would finally end in the loss of both legs and seven fingers, but which also marked the beginning of his new life.
A life in which the passion for sport and mountaineering have led him to climb Mont Blanc and many other great mountains – until, in 2022 on May 13, he became the first athlete with multiple amputations to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
Last January 22, exactly 8 years after that dramatic and decisive event, Andrea once again raised his arms in victory on one of the highest peaks in the world: Aconcagua, with its 6,962 metres, is considered the roof of South America.
It actually was a two-fold climb. Indeed, on January 16, after reaching camp 3 along the Ruta Normal de Los Pioneros, the best known and most popular route up the mountain, Lanfri set off towards the summit. However, his team lost contact with him as the signal from his satellite navigator remained stationary at an altitude of 6,745 metres for 7 long hours.
“I had carelessly put the navigator in the top pocket of my backpack, and must have lost it,” says the Italian mountaineer. “I got to the top and it was unbelievably cold, so much so that I had suffered slight frostbite on my hands, which didn’t allow me to take pictures.”
Once he returned to the base camp, Andrea had no doubts: “The weather forecast for the following days was still good, so I decided to go back up, and take photos this time to prove I had reached the summit. I didn’t want there to be any doubts about this climb, which was so beautiful and important to me.”
So, after recovering his energy for a few days, on Saturday, January 21, Lanfri took his backpack and started up again, reaching camp 2 at about 5,600 metres, after conquering 1,200 metres of elevation gain in one day. At 3 in the morning the following day, he resumed the ascent directly towards the summit: “It took me 9 hours to cover those last 1,600 metres of altitude, and finally take some photos next to the summit cross. Then I came back down, taking another 5 hours to camp 2. I spent the night there, and returned to the base camp the next day.”
“This was a particularly demanding challenge for me, because I completed it alone and independently”.
“I’m a loner by nature. I like to train alone and I don’t have a regular partner in the mountains. I’ve climbed without companions with me before, but this was the first time I faced an expedition at extremely high altitudes by myself. I used the logistics services offered by an agency at the base camp, but from then on I wanted to do everything independently: transporting my equipment and food, setting up the camps, preparing meals, etc. It was hard to carry everything up, but even harder to bring it back down: I descended with a gargantuan backpack on my shoulders! It was difficult, very difficult, but I’m really happy now: I completed this expedition all my own, and it’s a huge satisfaction!”
Having reached the summit of Aconcagua, Lanfri is one step closer to making his greatest dream come true: climbing the Seven Summits, the highest peaks of the seven continents. He already has Mount Everest (8,848 m) for Asia, Kilimanjaro (5,895 m) for Africa, and now also Aconcagua for South America under his belt. Now he needs to climb Mount Elbrus (5,642 m) for Europe, Mount Vinson (4,892 m) for Antarctica, Puncak Jaya (4,884m) for Oceania, and Denali (6,194m) for North America.
“The next summit on my schedule is Mount Elbrus, which I intend to climb with my girlfriend in the coming months,” Andrea reveals. “Then we’ll see... At the end of the year I would like to climb Puncak Jaya, then Mount Vinson and Denali. The expedition to Puncak Jaya will probably be the most complex to organise logistically, but the biggest mountaineering challenge will be Denali”.
“As always – he concludes – I want to thank Ferrino for its support and for the excellent equipment it made available to me. The AIR-LITE and SUPERLITE mattresses and the MYSTIC sleeping bag proved invaluable with the low temperatures I faced. Even the XMT 60 backpack did a wonderful job, especially at distributing the weight I was carrying on my back during the descent. But what I really must commend with a 10+ rating is the BLIZZARD 2 tent, which is very light and quick to set up, even alone and with the wind blowing strong at high-altitude camps. It stayed up for several days in camp 2 without suffering any damage. Amazing!”
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