Simone Moro (born 27 October 1967 in
Bergamo
Bergamo (; lmo, Bèrghem ; from the proto- Germanic elements *''berg +*heim'', the "mountain home") is a city in the alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from Switzerland, the alpine lakes Como ...
) is an Italian
alpinist known for having made first winter ascents of four of the fourteen
eight-thousanders
The International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (UIAA) recognises eight-thousanders as the 14 mountains that are more than in height above sea level, and are considered to be sufficiently independent of neighbouring peaks. There is no ...
:
Shishapangma
Shishapangma, also called Gosainthān, is the 14th-highest mountain in the world, at above sea level. In 1964, it became the last of the 8,000-metre peaks to be climbed. This was due to its location entirely within Tibet and the restrictions ...
in 2005,
Makalu
Makalu ( ne, मकालु हिमाल, Makālu himāl; zh, t=馬卡魯峰, p=Mǎkǎlǔ fēng) is the fifth highest mountain in the world at . It is located in the Mahalangur Himalayas southeast of Mount Everest, in Nepal. One of th ...
in 2009,
Gasherbrum II
Gasherbrum II ( ur, ; ); surveyed as K4, is the 13th highest mountain in the world at above sea level. It is the third-highest peak of the Gasherbrum massif, and is located in the Karakoram, on the border between Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan a ...
in 2011,
and
Nanga Parbat
Nanga Parbat ( ur, ) (; ), known locally as Diamer () which means “king of the mountains”, is the ninth-highest mountain on Earth, its summit at above sea level. Lying immediately southeast of the northernmost bend of the Indus River in ...
in 2016.
He has also summited
Everest
Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heigh ...
four times, in 2000, 2002, 2006, and 2010.
Moro is also an experienced helicopter pilot.
In 2013, he and two other rescue experts carried out the world's highest long-line rescue operation on a
helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...
, on Lhotse, at 7800m.
On 12 November 2015 he set a new flight altitude world record in an
ES 101 Raven turboshaft
A turboshaft engine is a form of gas turbine that is optimized to produce shaftpower rather than jet thrust. In concept, turboshaft engines are very similar to turbojets, with additional turbine expansion to extract heat energy from the exhaust ...
-powered helicopter (6705m).
Early life
Born in
Bergamo
Bergamo (; lmo, Bèrghem ; from the proto- Germanic elements *''berg +*heim'', the "mountain home") is a city in the alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from Switzerland, the alpine lakes Como ...
, in northern Italy, to middle-class parents, Moro grew up in the borough of
Valtesse and was actively encouraged by his father in his passion for the mountains. His father was an accomplished climber and cyclist and also fostered a lively and international environment around him. He started climbing on the
Presolana
Presolana (Italian: ''Pizzo della Presolana'') is a mountain located in Lombardy, northern Italy, about 35 km north of Bergamo.
Geography
Part of the Bergamasque Alps, it is included in the province of Bergamo, and divides the Val Seriana ...
and other massifs of the
Bergamasque Alps
The Bergamasque Alps or Bergamo Alps (Italian: ''Alpi Orobie'', sometimes translated into English as Orobic Alps) are a mountain range in the Italian Alps. They are located in northern Lombardy and named after the city Bergamo, south of the mount ...
at the age of 13. He completed his university studies and graduated ''
cum laude
Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...
'' in 2003 at the age of thirty-five.
Mountain climbing career
Moro began his climbing activity on the
Grigne
The Grigna is a mountain massif in the province of Lecco, Lombardy, northern Italy, with an elevation of . It is part of the Bergamo Alps, and it has two peaks, Grignone or Grigna settentrionale, the higher, and the lower Grignetta or Grigna m ...
near his home city. His father was his first mentor, and later Alberto Cosonni and Bruno Tassi. At that time he was primarily involved in rock climbing, an activity he has never given up. In 1992 he participated in his first Himalayan expedition, to
Mount Everest
Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heig ...
. One year later Moro climbed
Aconcagua
Aconcagua () is a mountain in the Principal Cordillera of the Andes mountain range, in Mendoza Province, Argentina. It is the List of highest mountains on Earth, highest mountain in the Americas, the highest outside Asia, and the highest in the ...
. He made expeditions to other mountains in the 1990s, including
Cerro Mirador and
Makalu
Makalu ( ne, मकालु हिमाल, Makālu himāl; zh, t=馬卡魯峰, p=Mǎkǎlǔ fēng) is the fifth highest mountain in the world at . It is located in the Mahalangur Himalayas southeast of Mount Everest, in Nepal. One of th ...
in 1993;
Shishapangma
Shishapangma, also called Gosainthān, is the 14th-highest mountain in the world, at above sea level. In 1964, it became the last of the 8,000-metre peaks to be climbed. This was due to its location entirely within Tibet and the restrictions ...
and
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 ...
in 1994,
Kangchenjunga
Kangchenjunga, also spelled Kanchenjunga, Kanchanjanghā (), and Khangchendzonga, is the third highest mountain in the world. Its summit lies at in a section of the Himalayas, the ''Kangchenjunga Himal'', which is bounded in the west by the T ...
in 1995. In 1996 Moro climbed the west wall of
Fitz Roy
Monte Fitz Roy (also known as Cerro Chaltén, Cerro Fitz Roy, or simply Mount Fitz Roy) is a mountain in Patagonia, on the border between Argentina and Chile.[Patagonia
Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and gl ...]
) in 25 hours from the base to the summit and back to the base. In the same year, he climbed Shishapangma South () without oxygen in 27 hours using skis in the descent from . In 1997 he summited Lhotse. In Winter 1997 he attempted the South face of
Annapurna
Annapurna (; ne, अन्नपूर्ण) is a mountain situated in the Annapurna mountain range of Gandaki Province, north-central Nepal. It is the tenth highest mountain in the world at above sea level and is well known for the difficu ...
. During this attempt, his climbing companions
Anatoli Boukreev
Anatoli Nikolaevich Boukreev (russian: Анато́лий Никола́евич Букре́ев; January 16, 1958 – December 25, 1997) was a Soviet and Kazakhstani mountaineer who made ascents of 10 of the 14 eight-thousander peaks—those a ...
and
Dimitri Sobolev Dimitri may refer
People
* Dmitry, a male given name, Slavic version of Greek name Demetrios
* Dimitri (clown) (1935–2016), Swiss clown and mime
* Dimitri Atanasescu, Ottoman-born Aromanian teacher
* Dimitri from Paris, French DJ
* Dimitri Flower ...
died in an avalanche. He tried Everest again in 1998; summited four peaks
Pik Lenin
Lenin Peak or Ibn Sina (Avicenna) Peak ( ky, Ленин Чокусу, ''Lenin Choqusu'', لەنىن چوقۇسۇ; russian: Пик Ленина, ''Pik Lenina''; tg, қуллаи Ленин , ''qulla‘i Lenin/qullaji Lenin'', renamed қулла ...
(),
Peak Korzhenevskaya
Peak Ozodi (russian: Пик Озоди), (until 2020 Korzhenevskoi Peak, russian: Пик Корженевской) is the third highest peak in the Pamir Mountains of Tajikistan. It is one of the five " Snow Leopard Peaks" in the territory of th ...
(),
Ismoil Somoni Peak
Ismoil Somoni Peak ( Tajik: Қуллаи Исмоили Сомонӣ, ''Qulla-i Ismō‘il-i Sōmōnî/Qullaji Ismojili Somonī''; fa, قلّهٔ اسماعیل سامانی; russian: Пик Исмои́ла Сомони́, r=Pik Ismoíla Somon ...
(, formerly known as Pik Kommunizma), Pik
Khan Tengri
Khan Tengri is a mountain of the Tian Shan mountain range. It is on the China—Kyrgyzstan—Kazakhstan tripoint, east of lake Issyk-Kul, Issyk Kul. Its geologic elevation is , but its glacial icecap rises to . For this reason, in mounta ...
() with young Kazakhstan guide
Denis Urubko
Denis Urubko (russian: Дени́с Ви́кторович Уру́бко; 29 July 1973) is a Russian-Polish mountaineer. In 2009, as a citizen of Kazakhstan he became the 15th person to climb all 14 eight-thousanders and the 8th person to achie ...
; then summited Everest with him in 2000
and
Marble Wall in winter 2001.
In 2002 he summited three peaks:
Mount Vinson
Vinson Massif () is a large mountain massif in Antarctica that is long and wide and lies within the Sentinel Range of the Ellsworth Mountains. It overlooks the Ronne Ice Shelf near the base of the Antarctic Peninsula. The massif is located a ...
,
Cho Oyu
__NOTOC__
Cho Oyu (Nepali: चोयु; ; ) is the sixth-highest mountain in the world at above sea level. Cho Oyu means "Turquoise Goddess" in Tibetan. The mountain is the westernmost major peak of the ''Khumbu'' sub-section of the Mahalangur ...
and Everest;
summited three peaks:
Broad Peak
Broad Peak ( ur, ) is a mountain in the Karakoram on the border of Pakistan and China, the twelfth-highest mountain in the world at above sea level. It was first ascended in June 1957 by Fritz Wintersteller, Marcus Schmuck, Kurt Diemberger, an ...
,
Elbrus
Mount Elbrus ( rus, links=no, Эльбрус, r=Elbrus, p=ɪlʲˈbrus; kbd, Ӏуащхьэмахуэ, 'uaşhəmaxuə; krc, Минги тау, Mingi Taw) is the highest and most prominent peak in Russia and Europe. It is situated in the we ...
and
Kilimanjaro
Mount Kilimanjaro () is a dormant volcano in Tanzania. It has three volcanic cones: Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world: above sea level and ab ...
in 2003, summited
Baruntse
Baruntse is a mountain in the Khumbu region of eastern Nepal, crowned by four peaks and bounded on the south by the Hunku Glacier, on the east by the Barun Glacier, and on the northwest by the Imja Glacier. The mountain was first climbed May 30 ...
along a new route and tried Shishapangma and Annapurna in 2004;
Batura
__NOTOC__
The Batura Muztagh () mountains are a sub-range of the Karakoram mountain range. They are located in between central hunza and upper hunza(Gojal valley) in the Hunza district of the Gilgit-Baltistan province in northern Pakistan.
They ar ...
and
Batokshi peaks in 2005,
Broad Peak
Broad Peak ( ur, ) is a mountain in the Karakoram on the border of Pakistan and China, the twelfth-highest mountain in the world at above sea level. It was first ascended in June 1957 by Fritz Wintersteller, Marcus Schmuck, Kurt Diemberger, an ...
in winter 2006 and 2007. In 2005 he achieved the first winter summit of Shishapangma, with
Piotr Morawski Piotr Morawski (27 December 1976 – 8 April 2009) was a Polish mountaineer. He was best known for making the first successful winter ascent together with Simone Moro of Shishapangma on 14 January 2005. Morawski died aged 32 during an international ...
.
In 2006 he completed a solo south–north traverse of Everest descending from the top in five hours.
In 2008 he made (with
Hervè Barmasse) the first ascent of Beka Brakai Chhok ( Karakorum). The climbing was in pure
alpine style
Alpine style is mountaineering in a self-sufficient manner, thereby carrying all of one's food, shelter and equipment as one climbs, as opposed to expedition style (or siege style) mountaineering which involves setting up a fixed line of stocked ...
and in 43 hours.
In January 2009 Moro made the first winter ascent of
Makalu
Makalu ( ne, मकालु हिमाल, Makālu himāl; zh, t=馬卡魯峰, p=Mǎkǎlǔ fēng) is the fifth highest mountain in the world at . It is located in the Mahalangur Himalayas southeast of Mount Everest, in Nepal. One of th ...
with
Denis Urubko
Denis Urubko (russian: Дени́с Ви́кторович Уру́бко; 29 July 1973) is a Russian-Polish mountaineer. In 2009, as a citizen of Kazakhstan he became the 15th person to climb all 14 eight-thousanders and the 8th person to achie ...
,
and in February 2011 the first winter ascent of
Gasherbrum II
Gasherbrum II ( ur, ; ); surveyed as K4, is the 13th highest mountain in the world at above sea level. It is the third-highest peak of the Gasherbrum massif, and is located in the Karakoram, on the border between Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan a ...
with
Denis Urubko
Denis Urubko (russian: Дени́с Ви́кторович Уру́бко; 29 July 1973) is a Russian-Polish mountaineer. In 2009, as a citizen of Kazakhstan he became the 15th person to climb all 14 eight-thousanders and the 8th person to achie ...
and
Cory Richards.
In February 2016, he completed the first winter ascent of
Nanga Parbat
Nanga Parbat ( ur, ) (; ), known locally as Diamer () which means “king of the mountains”, is the ninth-highest mountain on Earth, its summit at above sea level. Lying immediately southeast of the northernmost bend of the Indus River in ...
with
Alex Txikon and
Ali Sadpara
Muhammad Ali Sadpara (; – ) was a Pakistani high-altitude mountaineer. He was part of the team (which included Italian alpinist Simone Moro and Basque alpinist Alex Txikon) that successfully completed the first winter ascent to the summit o ...
.
In February 2018, he completed the first winter ascent of
Peak Pobeda, Sakha
, photo = Gorapobeda.jpg
, photo_caption = The north-east face of Peak Pobeda
, elevation_m = 3003
, elevation_ref =
, prominence_m = 2443
, prominence_ref =
, listing = Ultra
, map = Russia Sakha Republic
, map_caption = Russia
, l ...
along with fellow Italian mountaineer
Tamara Lunger.
Incident on Mount Everest, 2013
On 27 April 2013, Moro was climbing on the Lhotse Face, above Camp 3 of the Southeast Ridge route of Mount Everest. He was climbing with
Ueli Steck
Ueli Steck (; 4 October 1976 – 30 April 2017) was a Swiss rock climber and mountaineer. He was the first to climb Annapurna solo via its South Face (though this is disputed by some), and set speed records on the North Face trilogy in the Alps ...
and
Jonathan Griffith when they passed besides a group of 17
herpa
Herpa Miniaturmodelle GMBH (or simply Herpa, an acronym for "Hergenröther und Patente”, the original name of the firm), is a German manufacturing company that produces die-cast scale model aircraft (under the "Herpa Wings" trademark) and plasti ...
climbers who were fixing rope for the rest of the teams on the mountain. There are conflicting accounts from both parties, with the Sherpa claiming that Moro and his team insulted them and knocked over ice while traversing above them. Afterwards, Moro and his teammates descended to Camp 2. While discussing the incident with other climbers, Moro, Steck and Griffith were violently attacked by a much larger group of Sherpa. They claim the Sherpa had covered their faces as they threw punches and rocks at them. Tensions only eased after other foreign climbers at Camp 2, including
Melissa Arnot
Melissa Arnot Reid (born December 18, 1983) is an American mountaineer. She has climbed to the summit of Mount Everest six times.
Life and career
Arnot was raised just outside Glacier National Park in Whitefish, Montana. After college, she began ...
, intervened to defuse the situation. Moro and his team left the mountain but the incident received worldwide attention.
Rescue missions in Nepalese Himalayas
In May 2001 he tried to traverse Everest–Lhotse: during an attempt on the wall of
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 ...
at 8000 metres he abandoned the climb to search, rescue and save English alpinist Tom Moores. Moro was a recipient of the Fair Play Pierre de Coubertin trophy from
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
,
the Civilian Gold Medal from Italian president
Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
Carlo Azeglio Ciampi (; 9 December 1920 – 16 September 2016) was an Italian politician and banker who was the prime minister of Italy from 1993 to 1994 and the president of Italy from 1999 to 2006.
Biography Education
Ciampi was born i ...
and the
David A. Sowles Memorial Award The David A. Sowles Memorial Award is the American Alpine Club's highest award for valour, bestowed at irregular intervals on mountaineers who have "distinguished themselves, with unselfish devotion at personal risk or sacrifice of a major objectiv ...
from the
American Alpine Club
The American Alpine Club (AAC) is a non-profit member organization with more than 24,000 members. Its vision is to create "a united community of competent climbers and healthy climbing landscapes." The Club is housed in the American Mountaineerin ...
.
Tom Moores recalls his meeting with Moro this way:
In 2009, he bought a helicopter with his own money to carry out search and rescue operations in the Nepalese Himalayas for Nepalese people.
He has piloted the helicopter several times to rescue alpinists, sherpas, trekkers and people in remote areas.
Charitable work
In 2003, Moro projected and financed a school for 396 Sherpa children in the Nepalese village of Syadul. The objective of the project, carried with an Italian foundation, was to prevent early school leaving in the area.
The school was opened in 2005. It is located in a village a thousand meters above sea level and three hours from the nearest road.
Near the Nanga Parbat base camp, he financed, built and donated to the Pakistani district of Gilgit Baltistan a small masonry building for local shepherds and a small hospital in the village of Ser.
Eight-thousanders climbed
* 1996, 2005
–
Shishapangma
Shishapangma, also called Gosainthān, is the 14th-highest mountain in the world, at above sea level. In 1964, it became the last of the 8,000-metre peaks to be climbed. This was due to its location entirely within Tibet and the restrictions ...
, first winter ascent (2005)
* 1997 –
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 ...
* 2002 –
Cho Oyu
__NOTOC__
Cho Oyu (Nepali: चोयु; ; ) is the sixth-highest mountain in the world at above sea level. Cho Oyu means "Turquoise Goddess" in Tibetan. The mountain is the westernmost major peak of the ''Khumbu'' sub-section of the Mahalangur ...
* 2003 –
Broad Peak
Broad Peak ( ur, ) is a mountain in the Karakoram on the border of Pakistan and China, the twelfth-highest mountain in the world at above sea level. It was first ascended in June 1957 by Fritz Wintersteller, Marcus Schmuck, Kurt Diemberger, an ...
* 2009 –
Makalu
Makalu ( ne, मकालु हिमाल, Makālu himāl; zh, t=馬卡魯峰, p=Mǎkǎlǔ fēng) is the fifth highest mountain in the world at . It is located in the Mahalangur Himalayas southeast of Mount Everest, in Nepal. One of th ...
, first winter ascent
* 2000,
2002,
2006,
2010
–
Mount Everest
Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heig ...
* 2011 –
Gasherbrum II
Gasherbrum II ( ur, ; ); surveyed as K4, is the 13th highest mountain in the world at above sea level. It is the third-highest peak of the Gasherbrum massif, and is located in the Karakoram, on the border between Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan a ...
, first winter ascent
* 2016 –
Nanga Parbat
Nanga Parbat ( ur, ) (; ), known locally as Diamer () which means “king of the mountains”, is the ninth-highest mountain on Earth, its summit at above sea level. Lying immediately southeast of the northernmost bend of the Indus River in ...
, first winter ascent
Bibliography
*
*
* Moro, Simone (2016). ''Nanga'' (in Italian). Rizzoli. .
References
External links
*
Interview on planetmountain.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moro, Simone
1967 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Bergamo
Italian mountain climbers