Walter Bonatti

Walter Bonatti (; 22 June 1930 – 13 September 2011) was an Italian mountaineer, alpinist, explorer and journalist. He was noted for many climbing achievements, including a solo climb of a new alpine climbing route on the south-west pillar of the Aiguille du Dru in August 1955, the first ascent of Gasherbrum IV in 1958, and, in 1965, the first solo climb in winter of the North face of the Matterhorn on the mountain's centenary year of its first ascent. Immediately after his solo climb on the Matterhorn, Bonatti announced his retirement from professional climbing at the age of 35, and after 17 years of climbing activity. He authored many mountaineering books and spent the remainder of his career travelling off the beaten track as a reporter for the Italian magazine Epoca. He died on 13 September 2011 of pancreatic cancer in Rome aged 81, and was survived by his life partner, the actress Rossana Podestà. Famed for his climbing panache, he also pioneered little-known and technically difficult climbs in the Alps, Himalayas, and Patagonia. In 2009, Bonatti was awarded the first-ever Piolet d'Or Lifetime Achievement Award. He is widely considered as being one of the greatest climbers in history. Life and career An only child, born in Bergamo, in Lombardy, Italy, Bonatti spent his childhood in the Po Valley dreaming of adventure. WWII left his working-class family impoverished. His father was a fabric merchant, Bonatti took to gymnastics through a sports association in Monza. The physical strength and balance he developed here would prove to be crucial skills for Bonatti as a climber. At age 18, Bonatti started climbing on the Grigna, a rocky mountain of the Italian Prealps, where he spent the summer of 1948 climbing intensively.