Career Highlights

8a trad, 8a+ sport, X- multipitch, 6c E7 hard grit

    Interview

    • Climbing

      When and how did you get into climbing and what kept you interested / fascinated in the sport?

      I start climbing in 2007 in a climbing gym near my home. In those days I’ve seen for the first time “First Ascent” and Didier Berthod climbing on Green Spit. It was love at first sight with that route and this motivated me to climb harder and train more.

      Who was your childhood hero and do you consider yourself a role model now? Does it influence you at all that other people look up to you?

       One of my childhood hero was Alexander Huber for everything he did on big walls around the world. I don’t consider myself a role model because it is a big deal, but through all these years I became a mountain guide and had a lot of experiences on many different terrains always trying to learn some new cool stuff and for shore I like to inspiring other people.

      In recent years, I’ve noticed that I am a role model for some people. It still surprises me sometimes, but at the same time I’m happy if I can inspire others. Nevertheless, I try to stay true to myself, treat everyone equally, and pass on my values.

      What were the most important milestones in your life so far, both in climbing and in everyday life? Did you immediately recognize them as such or only later on?

      Unfortunately I lost my climbing partner during a climbing trip and this tragedy changed my life for sure. After that I decided to become a mountain guide, I did it also for him. In life this event taught me to live more in the present moment and don’t worry so much about future.

      What were your greatest failures / setbacks / injuries? How did you cope with them and how did you come back from them?

      My biggest setback was in 2015, in Norway. During the ascent of Lipton, an ice climbing route (WI7), everything explode and I’ve lost one of my best friends. At first I couldn’t climb on icefalls for a while, than I decided to come back stronger with more wisdom. Now I don’t feel guilty if I decide to come back or retreat a route that is too dangerous.

      What is your favorite climbing related story / experience?

      One of my favorite climbing thing is clean and open new lines, especially multipitch here in my beloved val di Mello such as: “Pana”, “Here Today, Gone Tomorrow”, “Mastro d’ hashish”, “Easy Rider” ecc. There’s a lot of funny stories I can tell behind the discovery of every single route!

       

    • Training

      Do you have a strict training schedule for when and how you train throughout the year?

      No, I don’t always have a strict training schedule because I practice multi discipline, so I train for what I need in a specific time of the year. I’m always pretty fit in general but when I have to achieve some hard goals I start train harder with my personal trainer.

      What do you think of indoor climbing gyms in relation to climbing on actual rock?

      Indoor climbing gyms are a really good tool for training and for improve, although in these years outdoor and indoor climbing became two very different worlds.

      What advice can you give to somebody looking to improve their training routine?

      First, if you don’t know what you’re doing asking for some help to a coach is the best thing to do. Then, try to train smarter not harder.

      Are you able to do a one-arm pull-up? How about a single finger?

      Actually I am able to do a one arm pull up! I was also able to do a single finger but at this moment I’m not in my best shape. Luckily strength is not everything you need in climbing 😉

      How much of the success as a pro climber is due to show and how much due to actual climbing skill?

      Unfortunately we now live in a moment where image is everything and the world of social media plays a fundamental role in all of this! But what appears does not always correspond to the truth or make us truly understand what lies behind so much hard work sometimes and this is sad.

      My opinion is that ability should always take priority in every context, I think that show what you can do as a climber is important but also always trying to stay true.

    • Psychology

      Is it possible for anybody to eventually perform a one-armed pull-up or get to the top of the Eiger/Matterhorn, or do you really have to be born for it?

      I think that everyone should try hard for achieve their dreams because everything is possible but you have to want it with all your power! If you really want something, remember that you could do everything you want but you have to sweat a lot.

      How important is it to set goals in professional sports? What are your goals / targets you are working towards in climbing and in life?

      Setting goal is everything. If you don’t have clear in your mind what you want to do, you will never go anywhere. So, setting goals is very important but also working with good strategies and keep a positive mind.

      My intention both in climbing and in life, is always be the best version of myself. Trying everyday to be a better person. 

      How to you deal with extremely hard climbing problems? Do you ever get frustrated and give up on them or do they motivate you even more?

      When I have to deal with my climbing projects training plays an important part of the process. Frustration is completely normal and I know that is hard to deal with it but in the end keeps my motivation high because I always want to do better and even in failure there’s always something positive, you must learn from it and never give up!

    • Future of rock climbing

      Is there anything you would like to change about the current developments in climbing?

      Yes, I would like to change some people education. Unfortunately I often see that nature is not respected as it should be, sometimes we don’t really understand how lucky we are for what we have in this world and for what is all around us, taking it for granted and I think we really need to be more sensitive about this.

      Where do you see the sport going in the next years, what will change and what is your role going to be in it?

      Sport is evolving really fast through the years and performances are always more impressive! The levels are growing so much and I am curious to see what the new athletes can do. As a mountain guide I will try to always keep motivate people around me to do better and give everything they got to reach their dreams.