In memory of Philipp Angelo

Philipp Angelo fell to his death yesterday while soloing the Cassin route up the Walker Spur on the Grandes Jorasses. Angelo, a mountain guide from Bolzano, was reserved but considered by many as one of the most talented Italian climbers of his generation.

The 36-year-old had established numerous new routes in the past, in particular up in the Dolomites, with standout ice and mixed climbs such as L'Onda di Hokusai on his backyard peak, the Rosengarten, and All-in up Gran Vernel. As often as possible though he took time out to climb big routes up in the high mountains, especially in the Mont Blanc massif.

His ascents are too many to list exhaustively, but those that stand out for obvious reasons are repeats in Patagonia of the Ragni Route on Cerro Torre and Supercanaleta on Fitz Roy, as well repeats in the Mont Blanc massif such as the Central Pillar of Frêney in 2015, a free solo of the Bonatti Oggioni route up Pilier Rouge du Brouillard in August 2016 followed by the free solo of the Gervasutti Pillar on Mont Blanc du Tacul a few weeks later.

During that same season Angelo teamed up with the Spain’s Marc Toralles to repeat the Manitoa route up the Croz Pillar, Grandes Jorasses, while in 2014 he had soloed the Polish route up the same peak, telling planetmountain.com after that experience "I'm exhausted, but happy, almost too tired to sleep but blissfully happy for having lived out my little dream, for having seized the day."

Yesterday Angelo was probably experiencing what he would have defined as another of his little dreams. We bid farewell in his South Tyrolean dialect: Pfiati, Philipp. May God be with you.