Dhaulagiri
25 years ago the "Aquile di San Martino" on Dhaulagiri
The Makalu Himal 2001 Expedition has in some respects its roots in the hundred year history of the Gruppo delle Aquile di San Martino. Exactely 25 years ago on 4 May 1976 Giampaolo Zortea and Silvio Simoni, two members of the Aquile di San Martino group of Mountain Guides, planted their ice axes on the summit of Dhaulagiri. Engulfed in a storm, they pulled out the Italian, Nepalese and Aquile flags. This was the first 8000m peak to be climbed by Mountain Guides from Primiero and San Martino and the third Italian ascent of an 8000m Himalayan giant.
The Dhaulagiri expedition came about and was organised in an extremely short period of time. A meeting between Francesco Santon, who owned a permit for the unclimbed SW crest, and the head of the Mountain Guides Renzo Debertolis lay the foundations for the expedition. At the beginning of December 1975 the Mountain Guides from San Martino decided to go ahead with the expedition and so speedy preparations began. The expedition left from Milan to Kathmandu on 23 February 1976 and included Renzo Debertolis (Expedition leader), Francesco Santon (Vice expedition leader), Sergio Martini and Luigi Henry, the doctor Achille Poluzzi and the Aquile Mountain Guides Camillo De Paoli, Gian Paolo De Paoli, Luciano Gadenz, Gian Pietro Scalet, Silvio Simoni, Giampaolo Zortea and Edoardo Zagonel.
The expedition reached the foot of Dhaulagiri's south crest on 17 March where a deposit camp was established. Five days later the true Base Camp was raised to 4610m beneath the north face.
Bad weather, heavy snowfalls and high winds hampered the expedition's progress but throughout April they managed to establish camps along the NE crest. This tiring but indispensable work required a great effort on the part of many mountaineers and the leading party which had climbed along the crest above 7000m found that they had no support party. The only chance of victory lay in the hands of the three mountaineers who had established Camp 5 at 7450m.
On 4 May Giampaolo Zortea, Silvio Simoni and Luciano Gadenz left their small tent at Camp 5 and began the final push. Luciano Gadenz turned back at 7900m due to frostbite, and it was he who announced the successful ascent at 16.05 on 4 May to the Expedition Leader Renzo Debertolis.
Giampaolo Zortea and Silvio Simoni reached the summit of Dhaulagiri engulfed in a storm and clouds at 14.30 on 4 May 1976.
by Marco Benedetti
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