Walter Bonatti

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Walter Bonatti (born 22 June 1930) is an Italian born climber who set new standards in post-war Alpine climbing.

Bonatti was born in Bergamo, Lombardy.

Famed for his climbing panache, he pioneered little known and technically difficult climbs in the Alps, Himalaya and Patagonia. Among his notable climbs are a solo climb of a new route on the south-west pillar of the Aiguille du Dru in August 1955 and the first solo winter ascent of the Matterhorn north face in 1965. At the age of 21, Bonatti in 1951 made the first ascent of The Grand Capucin, an extraordinary red granite pinnacle in the Mont Blanc massif, from 20 to 23 July. This was the climb that brought him to public notice. At age eighteen, Bonatti had made the fourth ascent of the formidable North Face of the Grand Jorasses with very poor equipment over a period of two days.

Bonatti was at the center of a climbing controversy regarding the first ascent of K2 by Lino Lacedelli and Achille Compagnoni. Along with Hunza climber, Mahdi, Bonatti carried oxygen cylinders to Lacedelli and Compagnoni at Camp IX for the summit attempt. Bonatti was later accused by Compagnoni of using some of the oxygen, causing the climbers to run out of oxygen on summit day. Using this supplemental oxygen would have impossible for Bonatti: he had neither mask nor regulator. Bonatti would cite two summit photos to support his theory that Compagnoni lied about running out of oxygen in route to the summit. Although Bonatti's account of the bivouac is supported by Lacedelli in K2: The Price of Conquest (2004), Lacedelli contends that the oxygen did in fact ran out. However, he attributes this not to Bonatti's alleged use of the oxygen, but to the physical exertion of the climb causing the summit climbers to use more oxygen than expected.

Another aspect of the controversy was the Bonatti-Mahdi forced bivouac of July 30, 1954. Compagnoni's decision to place the final camp (IX) at a higher location than formerly agreed caused the problem. When Bonatti and Mahdi climbed up to deliver oxygen to Compagnoni and Lacedilli for their summit attempt, Mahdi's condition had deteriorated. Unable to descend with Mahdi, Bonatti needed the shelter of Camp IX's tent. The tent was placed high up, over a dangerous traverse to the left - not at the agreed upon location. Unable to safely traverse to the tent, Bonatti and Mahdi endured a forced bivouac in the open at 8100 meters; it cost Mahdi his fingers and toes. Compagnoni explains his decision to move the tent was to avoid an overhanging serac, a viable explanation. However, it is argued that he also had an ulterior motive: to avoid Walter Bonatti. Bonatti was in the best physical condition of all the climbers and the logical choice to make the summit attempt. If he had joined the summit team, he would likely have done so without the use of supplemental oxygen. If he had succeeded, any summit by Compagnoni would have been utterly eclipsed. Although the Bonatti-Mahdi forced bivouac was not anticipated, Compagnoni intended to discourage Bonatti from reaching the tent. At 6:10 pm the next evening, Compagnoni and Lino Lacedelli reached the summit of K2, using the supplemental oxygen Bonatti and Mahdi had brought them. Ardito Desio, in his final report, mentioned the forced bivouac only in passing. Mahdi's frostbite was an embarrassment to the expedition. The Italian government provided Mahdi with a small pension for his contribution and sacrifice on the first ascent of K2. Walter Bonatti has never reconciled with Compagnoni, due to Compagnoni's false allegation that Bonatti used the oxygen intended for the summit attempt.

Bonatti wanted to climb K2 solo, alpine style, and without oxygen^[1]. He may well have succeeded. Two decades later, Messner and Peter Habeler astonished the mountaineering world by climbing Mount Everest without bottled oxygen.

Walter Bonatti was awarded the French Legion d'Honneur for saving the lives of two fellow-climbers in a disaster in the Alps. Bonatti is the author of a number of books about climbing and mountaineering.

Bonatti currently lives in Dubino, Sondrio, with his partner, actress Rossana Podestà.

Some of his climbs described in The Mountains of my Life book:
- The North Face of the Grandes Jorasses (1949)
- The East Face of Grand Capucin (1951)
- The North Faces of Lavaredo in Winter (1953)
- K2 Expedition (1954)
- The Southwest Pillar of the Dru (1955)
- Gasherbrum IV (1958)
- The Red Pillar of Brouillard (1959)
- Rondoy North - Patagonia (1961)
- The North Face of the Grandes Jorasses in Winter (1963)
- The North Face of the Matterhorn: Solo and in Winter (1965)

[edit] Books

The Mountaineering Books of Walter Bonatti

• Le Mie Montagne (My Mountains). Bologna: Zanichelli, 1961
• I Giorni Grandi (The Great Days). Verona: Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, 1971
• Magia del Monte Bianco (Magic of Mont Blanc). Como: Massimo Baldini Editore, 1984
• Processo al K2 (Trial on K2). Como: Massimo Baldini Editore, 1985
• La Mia Patagonia (My Patagonia). Como: Massimo Baldini Editore, 1986
• Un Modo di Essere (A way of Living). Milan: dall'Oglio Editore, 1989
• K2-Storia di un Caso (K2 - The Story of a Court Case). Bergamo: Ferrari Editrice, 1995
• Montagne di Una Vita (Mountains of a Life). Milan: Baldini & Castoldi, 1995
• K2-Storia di un Caso (K2 - The Story of a Court Case). 2d ed. Milan: Baldini & Castoldi, 1996
• The Mountains of my Life. Modern Library, 2001. ISBN 0-375-75640-X
• K2. La verità. 1954-2004, Walter Bonatti.
• K2. Lies and Treachery, Robert Marshall, 2009. ISBN 978-0-9538631-7-4.

Other

• On the Heights. Hart-Davis, 1964. ISBN B0000CMDRK
• Magic of Mont Blanc. Gollancz, 1985. ISBN 0-575-03560-9
• K2 (Italian). Baldini e Castoldi, 1998. ISBN 88-8089-072-7

[edit] References