Ciao Cristian Brenna, brilliant Italian climbing star

Shocking news from Italy: Cristian Brenna — one of the most talented, brilliant, and charismatic climbers we have ever had the honor of knowing - lost his life earlier today. Brenna died this morning on the Crest of Monte Biaina in Alto Garda while out with a fellow member of the Guardia di Finanza military corps, where he served.

Born in 1970, Brenna began climbing in May 1987 in the Lecco area, and from that day on, he never stopped. Over his nearly 40-year vertical career he explored everything from rock to plastic, from crags to bouldering and multi-pitch routes, even on some of the world's most inhospitable mountains such as in the Karakorum and in Patagonia.

His rise to the top of the sport was meteoric. By the late '90s, he was the man to look out for at crags and on the competition circuit, with his infectious energy and iconic dreadlocks. He quickly became one of the absolute reference points in sport climbing around the turn of the millennium.

Brenna first worked as an electrician — jokingly calling himself "the strongest electrician in Milan" — before joining the military sports team. Gone were his dreadlocks, but his competitive career took off from there. A three-time Italian Lead champion and three-time Italian Lead Cup winner, he also served as an athlete representative for the Italian Sport Climbing Federation. His international accolades include two silver medals at the European Championships (Nuremberg, 1998, and Munich, 2000), two bronze medals in the Lead World Cup (1996 & 2000), and a silver medal in the 1998 season, when he also won the Lead World Cup stage in Courmayeur. Then there were countless appearances at Master competitions, highlighted by his victory at Serre Chevalier in 1999 and his second place at the Rock Master in Arco in 1997. He came close to winning the historic equivalent of Wimbledon for climbing, but joked that no Italian had ever won it because they could actually understand the nonsense the speakers were saying... That was typical Brenna — always with a mischievous smile, always ready to poke fun at everything and everyone, first and foremost himself. His circle included top-tier climbers like Luca Zardini, Luca Giupponi, Alberto Gnerro, Stefano Alippi, Marzio Nardi, Mauro Calibani, Rolando Larcher... The list goes on, and great fun and superb climbing were always guaranteed.

During this intense competitive period, Brenna never lost sight of climbing outdoors, where he amazed with lightening fast repeats up to 8c+, a grade that at the time was then the pinnacle of sport climbing. In his heyday he was the ultimate climbing machine, and although he had no equal in fast redpoints, he preferred what he saw as "the purest essence of climbing" — onsighting. After over a hundred 8a onsights and several 8b onsights, he managed to onsight two 8b+: Mortal Kombat at Castillon in France, and Ghegoro at Covolo in Northern Italy. Less known is his near-success in 1999, when he came agonisingly close to onsighting the 8b+/c Terapia de Grito at Cuenca in Spain. Then there were his hard boulder problems, trad repeats such as Is Not Always Pasqua, the first free ascent of Free Itaca nel Sole in Valle dell'Orco in 2003, and the 9a Underground at Massone in 2005... All ascents that, in an era before Instagram and when the internet was still in its infancy, truly made people dream. Brenna became a symbol and a master of climbing that always sought beauty and freedom.

After retiring from competitions in 2005, Brenna shifted his focus for a while, turning to mountaineering and expeditions to the Greater Ranges — from Chogolisa in the Karakoram to Patagonia. It was there, at the end of the world in 2008, that together with Hervé Barmasse he stubbornly completed a route on Cerro Piergiorgio, with crucial support from Giovanni Ongaro and Mario Conti, two members of the Ragni di Lecco mountaineering club he was a part of.

On reflection, Brenna was always a part of everything, and everyone. Crags, bouldering, trad, mountaineering, a member of the Guardia di Finanza's mountain rescue squad, a mountain guide, a belayer at Rock Master and Rock Junior competitions. Thoughout the last four decades, Brenna was everywhere, always. He was an integral part of the Italian climbing scene, a familiar face, especially in Arc where he lived with his wife Jana and their two children, Sofia and Filippo. As Vinicio Stefanello wrote 25 years ago, Brenna was "a brilliant star in the world of sport climbing." A star that, sadly, has faded today.

- Nicholas Hobley, Trieste