A descent for Marco

In October 2007 Alessandro Baù and I had been invited by Marco to talk about our summer Civetta climbs at his restaurant and this inaugurated his series of brilliant gastronomic - climbing meetings... During our three days there he wanted to show us absolutely everything: the long multi-pitch climbs up Medale, Nibbio, the crags below Resegone, the Grigne pinacles and Sasso Cavallo... There was a twinkle in his eyes as he told us stories of "his" mountains and it was clear that he was deeply in love with them.

It is still dark as I brew the coffee and I think of him: I want to explore a face I've always seen, a mere half-hour's drive from home, in short, nothing special... but he'd understand perfectly. Even the mountains outside your doorstep can become as intriguing as the South Face of Cerro Torre, it all depends on how you look at them.

I only have half a day, so I could easily put things off, but now I remember what Marco told us about his training for K2... his pre-dawn start from Lecco, arrival at Cervinia towards 6:00am, 5000m (yes , 5000!) altitude gain, skinning up the pistes, then the rush back home just in time to take the kids to Kindergarten in the afternoon. A striking example of what "motivation" can really mean and a great lesson in life: too precious to waste even an instant. The impression I got was that he was someone who lived life to the full, always bustling with ideas and projects, taking full advantage of every moment he had.

Laboriously I make my way up the gully next to Matteo: he too knew Marco. They had shared the experience of becoming a Mountain Guide before his elbow injury had forced him to abandon this altogether.

It isn't easy to say goodbye to a friend, those you perceive as "one of yours" , someone who knows exactly what you mean when you say things, understands why you do certain things and why these are so important in your life... Most climbers certainly aren't great at showing their emotions...So I know no better than to dedicate an ascent to you, or a beautiful descent like this one, in a wild environment despite being so close to home, in a solemn and impressive ambient you'd certainly appreciate.

Bye Marco, see you around.

by Alessandro Beber

17/03/2014 - Marco Anghileri has left us
18/03/2014 - For Marco Anghileri