The latest expedition by Enrico Mosetti, mountain guide, great expert in steep skiing and Ferrino Ambassador, is all about lightness and adventure. In recent weeks, together with his friends Giovanni Zaccaria and Davide Limongi, he made the first ascent and first descent of an unclimbed peak in Pakistan.
A few days after its return to Italy we contacted Mose to learn more about this beautiful creation.
Enrico, how did this expedition come about?
Actually, the idea had been going around in my head for some time. I had seen the wall a few years ago, browsing Instagram, on the profile of a Pakistani photographer. The line had immediately fascinated me and, in the following days, doing a bit of research on Google Earth and FatMap, I managed to identify its position in the Passu Glacier area. Then Covid and the lockdown arrived and that mountain remained there in the drawer of dreams... In the first months of this year I started thinking about it again and, through contacts with the agency that had followed me on the previous trip to Pakistan, I managed to find out that it was a mountain of about 5500 meters, which had not yet been skied down and, almost certainly, not even climbed!
So you immediately contacted your friends to arrange the shipment?
Actually, at first I had thought of going alone. Then I had the opportunity to talk about it with Giovanni Zaccaria, also a mountain guide and mountain rescue technician, with whom, despite never having skied, I had shared some mountaineering experiences. He immediately showed enthusiasm for the project and, shortly after, Davide Limongi, a fellow countryman of mine and a trusted companion in many ski adventures, joined us. We organized everything in a hurry, because our days were numbered: Giovanni had to return to Italy by May 19th for a wedding, and Davide, being a member of the Guardia di Finanza, had to wait to get all the permits from his superiors to be able to leave; so we only managed to take the plane on April 25th…
A very short time for such an exploratory and unknown project!
Yes, but luckily everything went well! The weather conditions were optimal and we quickly managed to reach our mountain and be ready for the climb, since the not very high altitude saved us from having to dedicate time to acclimatization. Once we had set up the base camp we made the climb in one go, without having to set up intermediate camps, and all three of us reached the summit.
You have defined this climb and this descent as the realization of the dream you have been chasing for a long time. What made it so special compared to other experiences you have had on mountains outside Europe?
It was a combination of things. First of all, the fact that it was the first time I left the Alps after Covid. Then, the fact that I felt so “mine”, that mysterious mountain that I had spotted by chance on the web and had followed for so long on maps… Also because, in all likelihood, it is a first absolute ascent and certainly a first descent. It is a bit like the realization of my ideal of adventure. I consider myself more of a skier than a mountaineer, but what fascinates me most is skiing on mountains that have never been descended, even better if they have never been climbed! On expeditions I go in search of the perfect fusion of these two aspects: that of slightly more technical and engaging mountaineering and that of exploratory skiing.
You also gave a name to this mountain, dedicating it to Leonardo Comelli…
This was another important aspect of the experience we lived: I was there with two great friends, all three of us gathered on an untouched peak in memory of Leo, the companion with whom I nurtured and grew my love for the mountains and skiing, who unfortunately passed away in 2016, due to a fatal fall while he was attempting the first descent of Laila Peak with me. Both he and I had never looked with sympathy at the various memorial plaques scattered around the mountains, but when we were up there it came naturally to us to christen the peak we had just reached with the name of “Romboss”, the affectionate nickname with which Leo was called by all his friends.
After this beautiful achievement your expedition did not stop…
Yes, things went better than expected and we still had a few days left. It was not possible to find other mountains to climb so quickly in the area where we were, so we decided to move to the Laila Peak area, in the same valleys that I had visited years before with Leo… We found another beautiful peak of 6447 meters, only this time I made a mess! Before climbing to the base camp we spent a couple of days in Skardu and, once we got to the bottom of the mountain, I realized that I had forgotten my heated socks down there… Unfortunately, after the frostbite I suffered in 2007 during a winter in the Julian Alps, my feet are still very sensitive to the cold and I have to protect them using that kind of equipment. To make a long story short, after spending the night on the mountain at the intermediate camp, with temperatures that dropped to -38 degrees, we set off to reach the summit, but, around 6:30, I realized that my feet were not at all good and I decided to go back to avoid the risk of getting frostbite again. Giovanni and Davide instead went ahead, but after a while the latter, probably also demotivated by my giving up, decided to turn back. Giovanni on the other hand was in great shape and continued alone, reaching the summit and completing the descent on skis: a great demonstration of head, tenacity and skill!
A little while ago you were talking about one of your climbs in the Julian Alps. How much did growing up as a mountaineer and skier in such wild mountains influence your way of experiencing the mountains?
I think it played an important role. The Julian Alps have always been considered a bit like the outskirts of the Alps and, for years, especially when I was younger, I felt this as a limitation. I often dreamed of moving at least for a while to more famous places, where the most famous and renowned mountains are. Little by little, however, I realized that perhaps being born and raised in the Julian Alps was a stroke of luck. As a skier, I was able to deal with an environment that shapes you and teaches you a lot, because the conditions there are the masters: it always snows a lot, but we rarely ski good snow and behind any trip, even an easy-medium one, there is always something a bit complex and challenging, due to the length, or the wild environment or the weather conditions. From an alpinistic point of view, the Julian Alps are even more challenging, because in summer, if you want to climb there, you have to learn to deal with almost always mediocre rock and in winter they are an extraordinary gym for mixed climbing, offering an extremely training terrain for adventure, capable of giving great satisfaction.
At your side, in this last expedition, as in many previous ones, you had Ferrino technical equipment. How did it behave?
Very good I would say! We had two tents with us. One was the Piler 3, which has been with me for a few years now and which we set up at base camp. For me it was yet another confirmation of the fact that it is a super valid tent for this type of use, even on snow and even at rather low temperatures. The other tent was the new Blizzard 2. We used it for just one day on the second mountain, testing it to the limit of its capabilities and perhaps even a little beyond. In fact, there were three of us in a tent for two... at minus 38 degrees! An extreme test, but one that we passed with flying colors! Then I had with me the Lightec 1200 sleeping bag, which is not a product designed for the coldest temperatures. Despite this, it did its job very well and at base camp it allowed me to have a good night's sleep! Also worthy of mention is the Instinct 30+5 backpack... perhaps a little small in certain phases of transporting materials on the mountain, but that's my fault: Ferrino also produces one with a larger capacity, but I don't like big backpacks! It's definitely equipment that requires a little care when handling ski edges, but it's perfect when going uphill and really, really comfortable when going downhill too!
