Simone Moro

Simone Moro
Born	October 27, 1967(1967-10-27)(age56) Bergamo, Italy
Occupation	Alpinist
Known for	Shishapangma(first winter ascent, 2005) Makalu(first winter ascent, 2009) Gasherbrum II(first winter ascent, 2011) Nanga Parbat(first winter ascent, 2016)

Simone Moro(born 27 October 1967 inBergamo) is an Italianmountaineerknown for having made first winter ascents of four of the fourteeneight-thousanders:Shishapangmain 2005,Makaluin 2009,Gasherbrum IIin 2011,andNanga Parbatin 2016.No other climber has made more first winter ascents of aneight-thousanderin history. He has summitedEverestfour times, in 2000, 2002, 2006, and 2010.

Moro is also an experienced helicopter pilot.In 2013, he and two other rescue experts carried out the world's highest long-line rescue operation on ahelicopter,on Lhotse, at 7800m.On 12 November 2015 he set a new flight altitude world record in anES 101 Raventurboshaft-powered helicopter (6705m).

Early life

Born inBergamo,in northern Italy, to middle-class parents, Moro grew up in the borough ofValtesseand was actively encouraged by his father in his passion for the mountains. His father was an accomplished climber and cyclist and also fostered a lively and international environment around him. He started climbing on thePresolanaand other massifs of theBergamasque Alpsat the age of 13. In 2003, at 35, he completed his university studies and graduatedcum laude.

Climbing career

Moro began his climbing activity on theGrignenear his home city. His father was his first mentor, and later Alberto Cosonni and Bruno Tassi. At that time he was primarily involved in rock climbing, an activity he has never given up. In 1992 he participated in his first Himalayan expedition, toMount Everest.One year later Moro climbedAconcagua.He made expeditions to other mountains in the 1990s, includingCerro MiradorandMakaluin 1993;ShishapangmaandLhotsein 1994,Kangchenjungain 1995. In 1996 Moro climbed the west wall ofFitz Roy(3,341 m (10,961 ft) inPatagonia) in 25 hours from the base to the summit and back to the base. In the same year, he climbed Shishapangma South (8,008 m [26,273 ft]) without oxygen in 27 hours using skis in the descent from 7,100 m (23,300 ft). In 1997 he summited Lhotse. In Winter of 1997 he attempted the South face ofAnnapurna.During this attempt, his climbing companionsAnatoli BoukreevandDimitri Sobolevdied in an avalanche. He tried Everest again in 1998; summited four peaksPik Lenin(7,134 m (23,406 ft)),Peak Korzhenevskaya(7,105 m [23,310 ft]),Ismoil Somoni Peak(7,495 m (24,590 ft), formerly known as Pik Kommunizma), PikKhan Tengri(7,010 m [23,000 ft]) with young Kazakhstan guideDenis Urubko;then summited Everest with him in 2000andMarble Wallin winter 2001.

In 2002 he summited three peaks:Mount Vinson,Cho Oyuand Everest;summited three peaks:Broad Peak,ElbrusandKilimanjaroin 2003, summitedBaruntsealong a new route and tried Shishapangma and Annapurna in 2004;BaturaandBatokshipeaks in 2005,Broad Peakin winter 2006 and 2007. In 2005 he achieved the first winter summit of Shishapangma, withPiotr Morawski.In 2006 he completed a solo south–north traverse of Everest descending from the top in five hours.

In 2008 he made (withHervè Barmasse) the first ascent of Beka Brakai Chhok (6,950 m (22,800 ft) Karakorum). The climbing was in purealpine styleand in 43 hours.

In January 2009 Moro made the first winter ascent ofMakaluwithDenis Urubko,and in February 2011 the first winter ascent ofGasherbrum IIwithDenis UrubkoandCory Richards.In April 2013, Moro, while climbing withUeli Steckwho was preparing for a traverse next spring of Everest and Lhotse, got into an altercation with disgruntled sherpas that according toThe Guardian:"... went viral and Steck, wholly blameless in the affair, became severely depressed and disheartened".In February 2016, Moro completed the first winter ascent ofNanga ParbatwithAlex TxikonandAli Sadpara.In February 2018, he completed the first winter ascent ofPeak Pobeda, Sakhaalong with fellow Italian mountaineerTamara Lunger.

Rescue missions

In May 2001 he tried to traverse Everest–Lhotse: during an attempt on the wall ofLhotseat 8000 metres he abandoned the climb to search, rescue, and save English alpinist Tom Moores.Moro was a recipient of the Fair Play Pierre de Coubertin trophy fromUNESCO,the Civilian Gold Medal from Italian presidentCarlo Azeglio Ciampiand theDavid A. Sowles Memorial Awardfrom theAmerican Alpine Club.Tom Moores recalls his meeting with Moro this way:

On the way down we met Simone who had unfortunately failed to get to the summit because of the energy he had used rescuing me. I felt and still feel very guilty, but Simone who is a very humble man shrugged his shoulders and said, "It is no problem. In the future, I can still climb and you can still climb and that's more important than any summit." His sentiment is a lesson to us all, I believe it’s a perfect example of the true climbing spirit. I will never be able to thank him enough for what he did for me, he is an amazing man and a real hero.

— Tom Moores, 2001

In 2009, he bought a helicopter with his own money to carry out search and rescue operations in the Nepalese Himalayas for Nepalese people.He has piloted the helicopter several times to rescue alpinists, sherpas, trekkers, and people in remote areas.

Charitable work

In 2003, Moro projected and financed a school for 396 Sherpa children in the Nepalese village of Syadul. The objective of the project, carried with an Italian foundation, was to prevent early school-leaving in the area.The school was opened in 2005. It is located in a village a thousand meters above sea level and three hours from the nearest road.

Near the Nanga Parbat base camp, he financed, built, and donated to the Pakistani district of Gilgit Baltistan a small masonry building for local shepherds and a small hospital in the village of Ser.

Eight-thousanders climbed

• 1996, 2005–Shishapangma,first winter ascent (2005)
• 1997 –Lhotse
• 2002 –Cho Oyu
• 2003 –Broad Peak
• 2009 –Makalu,first winter ascent
• 2000,2002,2006,2010–Mount Everest
• 2011 –Gasherbrum II,first winter ascent
• 2016 –Nanga Parbat,first winter ascent

Bibliography

• Moro, Simone (2003).Cometa sull'Annapurna(in Italian). Corbaccio.ISBN9788879725903.
• Moro, Simone (2008).8000 metri di vita(in Italian). Grafica e Arte.ISBN9788872012727.
• Moro, Simone (2016).Nanga(in Italian). Rizzoli.ISBN9788817090230.

External links

• Official website
• Interview on planetmountain(in Italian)