Alessandro Gogna (born 29 July 1946) is a

mountaineer Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, an ...

adventurer An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...

and mountain guide from

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Biography

Born in

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

, he is one of the key figures of Italian

mountaineering Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, a ...

, both as an active climber and as one of the foremost writers about the mountain world. He has lived and described the transition from classic mountaineering to modern climbing. The first ascents were on the mountains of his native

Liguria Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...

. His interest moved to the walls of the

Dolomites The Dolomites ( it, Dolomiti ; Ladin: ''Dolomites''; german: Dolomiten ; vec, Dołomiti : fur, Dolomitis), also known as the Dolomite Mountains, Dolomite Alps or Dolomitic Alps, are a mountain range located in northeastern Italy. They form par ...

and he has since climbed in all possible environments, from sea level to the high camps of K2. He count over 500 new climbs in Italy. He still is one of the international guarantors of

Mountain Wilderness Mountain Wilderness is an international non-governmental organization dedicated to the preservation of mountain areas, in their natural and cultural aspects. The organization was founded in Europe and has a stronger presence in alpine and pyrene ...

having been among the founders. In 1981, Alessandro Gogna, with

Maurizio Zanolla Maurizio "Manolo" Zanolla (born in Feltre, 16 February 1958) is an Italian rock climber and mountaineer, and a pioneer of sport climbing in Italy during the 1980s and 1990s. Climbing career Manolo came to international attention with his free ...

, climbed the Aguglia of Goloritzè in

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

, initiating the original development of the

Selvaggio Blu Selvaggio is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Antonio Selvaggio (born 1958), Italian long-distance runner * Giulio Lorenzo Selvaggio (1728–1772), Italian canonist and archaeologist * Piero Selvaggio (born 1958), Italian long ...

a trekking route.

Notable ascents

*1967: Scarason (Alpi Liguri), NE wall, first ascent *1968: Pizzo Badile, NE wall, route Cassin, first winter ascent *1968:

Grandes Jorasses The Grandes Jorasses (4,208 m; 13,806 ft) is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif, on the boundary between Haute-Savoie in France and Aosta Valley in Italy. The first ascent of the highest peak of the mountain (''Pointe Walker'') was by Hor ...

, N wall, route Cassin, first solo ascent *1969:

Grand Capucin The Grand Capucin (3,838 m) is a rock pinnacle located underneath Mont Blanc du Tacul in the Mont Blanc Massif in Haute-Savoie, France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It ...

, SE wall, Diretta dei Ragni, first winter ascent *1969:

Monte Rosa : , other_name = Monte Rosa massif , translation = Mount Rose , photo = Dufourspitze (Monte Rosa) and Monte Rosa Glacier as seen from Gornergrat, Wallis, Switzerland, 2012 August.jpg , photo_caption = Central Mon ...

Macugnaga Macugnaga ( Walser German: ''Z'Makana'') is a mountain village and a comune at elevation, in the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, in the north of the Piedmont region of Italy. It is located at the base of Monte Rosa (), the second-tallest moun ...

E wall, via dei Francesi, first solo ascent *1969: Matterhorn, Naso di Z’Mutt first ascent *1970: Grivola, NE wall, via Cretier, first winter ascent *1970: IIa Pala di S. Lucano, SW wall, first ascent *1970:

Marmolada Marmolada (Ladin: ''Marmolèda''; German: ''Marmolata'', ) is a mountain in northeastern Italy and the highest mountain of the Dolomites (a section of the Alps). It lies between the borders of Trentino and Veneto. The Marmolada is an ultra-pr ...

, S wall, first ascent direct route *1971: Pilier d'Angle, full Peutérey ridge, first winter ascent *1971: Cima di Terranova

Monte Civetta Monte Civetta (3,220 m) is a prominent and major mountain of the Dolomites, in the Province of Belluno in northern Italy. Its north-west face can be viewed from the Taibon Agordino valley, and is classed as one of the symbols of the Dolomites ...

, NW wall, first ascent direct route *1972: IIIa Pala di San Lucano, W wall, first ascent *1972: Brenta Alta, NE ridge, first ascent *1972:

, S wall, first ascent *1972: Aiguille de Leschaux, NE wall, first ascent direct route *1974: IIa Pala di San Lucano, E wall, first ascent *1974: IVa Pala di San Lucano, S wall, first ascent *1974: Campanile dei Zoldani (Moiazza), W wall, first ascent direct route *1974: Palazza (Monti del Sole), SW wall, first ascent *1981: Guglia di Goloritzé, first ascent ever *1984: Liss dal Pesgunfi (Val Màsino), E wall, first ascent *2005: Cima di Pino Sud (Col Nudo), E wall, first ascent

Expeditions

*1973: Annapurna, attempt on the NW ridge *1975:

Lhotse Lhotse ( ne, ल्होत्से ; , ''lho tse'', ) is the fourth highest mountain in the world at , after Mount Everest, K2, and Kangchenjunga. The main summit is on the border between Tibet Autonomous Region of China and the Khumbu ...

, S wall, attempt *1978:

El Capitan El Capitan ( es, El Capitán; "the Captain" or "the Chief") is a vertical Rock formations in the United States, rock formation in Yosemite National Park, on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The El Capitan Granite, granit ...

(

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

), Salathé route, first Italian climb *1979: K2, Abruzzi spur

Other activities

*Speaker (400 talks in Italy and worldwide, starting 1968 until today) *Writer, about 200 articles on magazines, newspaper, web *Trekking tour leader in

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, dal 1972 al 1978 *creator and coordinator of outstanding initiatives, such as: Clean Marmolada, Free K2, Save the Glaciers, Levissima for Everest,

Club Alpino Italiano The Club Alpino Italiano is the senior Italian alpine club which stages climbing competitions, operates alpine huts, marks and maintains paths, and is active in protecting the Alpine environment. It was founded in Turin in 1863 by the then finan ...

cleanup of Baltoro Glacier, ecc.

Selected bibliography

Alessandro Gogna has written over 40 books, in many languages, and co-authored many more. *Gogna, A., Grandes Jorasses Sperone Walker (Tamari, Nordpress, 1999) *Gogna, A., Un alpinismo di ricerca (Dall’Oglio, 1975) *Gogna, A. Reinhold Messner, K2 (De Agostini, 1980) *Gogna, A., La parete (Zanichelli, 1981) *Gogna, A., Cento nuovi mattini (Zanichelli, 1981) *Gogna, A., Mezzogiorno di pietra (Zanichelli, 1982) *Gogna, A., Rock story (Edizioni Melograno, 1983) *Gogna, A., Cento pareti di ghiaccio nelle Alpi (Zanichelli, 1984) *Gogna, A., A piedi in Valtellina (De Agostini, 1984) *Gogna, A., Dal Pizzo Badile al Bernina (Zanichelli, 1986) *Gogna, A., Sentieri verticali (Zanichelli, 1987) *Gogna, A., Mesolcina - Spluga (CAI - TCI, 1999) * Gogna, A., K2. Uomini. Esplorazioni. Imprese *Gogna, A., I Grandi Spazi delle Alpi (8 volumes) *Gogna, A., Le Montagne più belle (11 volumes), La Stampa - Priuli&Verlucca, 2006 e 2008 *Gogna, A., La verità obliqua di Severino Casara (with Italo Zandonella, Priuli&Verlucca, 2009) RecensioniDiLibri.it
*Gogna, A., Insieme in vetta, (with Raggio, A. Mondadori 2013)

Sources

External links

Intervista su AlpiniaIntervista sull'EspressoGruppo GISM Trentofilmfestival
*K
Photo agency
co-owner. One of the most complete archives of mountain photo: over 100'000 images of the Alps and of other mountains worldwide.
personal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gogna, Alesssandro 1946 births Sportspeople from Genoa Italian mountain climbers Free soloists Living people