For Massimo

On 24 February Massimo Farina died while ice climbing in Val di Rhemes (Italy).

March 2005

"Hello". "Yes... have you heard the news?". "Yes...". Silence. "We'll be in touch, bye...". The telephone calls repeat themselves, almost all identical. All without words, all senseless, all without an explanation for what happened. There is never a reason, when it occurs. Just flashes. Moments. Flashes of emotions. I saw his eyes once again. Massimo's deep eyes.

I met him less than a month ago, almost by chance. We were beneath the ice structure in Valle di Daone, illuminated by the lights. It was the night before the Ice Boulder Championship. And in Massimo's eyes I saw stupor, happiness. I'm certain: his thoughts were running high, he was climbing through the overhang, he was already in action. And simply the thought of this gave him joy. Beneath the roof we looked at each other for a second, before continuing our gaze on upwards. "Go on, take part in this competition" I said. "Go on, you'll enjoy it." Massimo shook his head slightly while a smile crossed his eyes. It's those sincere, deep eyes that I'll remember. That flash of joy, that smile.

I didn't know Massimo well, even if these pages often talked about his ascents and, indirectly, talked about his greatest passions: the mountains, alpinism, climbing in all its forms. His climbing partners were the ones who always sent me the news we published, it was always his friends who wrote and talked about him. "Massimo's extremely strong, in everything he does" is what they said. He proved it. From Himalayan climbing to bouldering, from ice climbing to great classic routes, it made no difference. He was born to climb, for the joy of climbing!

Massimo had deep eyes. I will always remember them.

Vinicio Stefanello