Abele Blanc
Is mountaineering a sport? Yes!
It is perhaps among the noblest sports, where competition exists but it is not the most important principle to be taken into consideration.
When you climb one of the 14 eight thousand tallest in the world, competition takes a back seat, and the opponent is not a human being.
It's you against the mountain. And if the mountain has decided not to let you pass, despite your preparation and strength, you will not pass - sorry not to be able to go back.
Not many have climbed all 14 of the highest mountains in the world.
Fewer still those who managed to get off the peak.
Among the biggest? Perhaps the Valdostano Abele Blanc. Because?
Because it did so in times when technology did not help much either to rise or to descend. Because he has done it many times alone.
Because he lived through terrible tragedies but he never gave up, and he always (re) went back to the mountains.
Especially because after the climb, he always went down. And he's still alive!
ABELE BLANC - Climber of all 14 eight-thousanders