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Valtournenche Piazzetta delle Guide
Inauguration of the XXV edition of Cervino CineMountain Festival
to follow
AUGURI KURT!
with Kurt Diemberger, Silvio Mondinelli, Matteo Della Bordella, Nasim Eshqi, Alessandro Gogna, Patrick Gabarrou, Ezio Marlier, Roberto Mantovani
The mountain is not just a means of measuring ability, it’s something far bigger than that, like a huge tree beside an ant nest. You can be the busiest, fastest ant but the true essence of the tree will escape you. On a mountain, humankind can only attempt to understand, sometimes we get close, but when you really grasp it, you no longer have any need for words or measurements.
(Spirits of the air, Kurt Diemberger)
Cervino CineMountain is celebrating the 90th year of Kurt Diemberger, a master of lm and of mountain photography, a living legend in the world of mountaineering and a great friend of this festival, which was often honoured by his presence. In homage of Kurt we will be joined by climbers of all ages and backgrounds, who share a deep sense of admiration and a ection for him.
“Where to”. This is the title we chose for the lm we made with Kurt nine years ago. It wasn’t so much a question as an attitude to life, a “mantra”, a modus vivendi … we knew that that was how he lived his life, that was the way he lived, in a sort of permanent state of exploration, it didn’t matter whether it was about mountains, or whether it was deserts of ice or sand, or the sea. Kurt, this style of yours and your sense of wonder, we carry it in our hearts. Happy 90th birthday!
This homage to Kurt Diemberger will commence at 21.00 in the evening at the conference centre in Valtournenche and will open with the special hors concours showing in international premiere of Gerald Salmina’s lm “DAS QUANTUM GLUCK – KURT DIEMBERGER”; director and protagonist will be in attendance on the night.
Valtournenche Piazzetta delle Guide
WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS
Presenting the Matterhorn Cervino Speed Opening
with Région Autonome Valle d’Aosta: Jean Pierre Guichardaz (Assessore Beni Culturali, Turismo, Sport e Commercio), Luigi Bertschy (Assessore Sviluppo economico, Formazione e Lavoro)
and with Chantal Vuillermoz (Assessore Sport e Montagna, Comune di Valtournenche), Marco Mosso (FISI-Avisa Valle d’Aosta), Herbert Tovagliari (Spa Cervino), Franz Julen (President of the Organising Commitee of the Matterhorn Cervino Speed Opening and President of Zermatt Bergbahnen)
special guests Pirmin Zurbriggen e Piero Gros
hosted by Luca Castaldini (Gazzetta dello Sport)
The Matterhorn Cervino Speed Opening is the rst cross-border Word Cup Ski race of its time and will take place on 29/30 October (men’s) and 5/6 November (women’s) on the slopes of the ‘Gran Becca’, starting at the Gobba di Rollin in Switzerland, and nishing at the Laghi Cime Bianche above Cervinia in Italy.
Regional authorities, the Municipality and the organizing Comitee will introduce this joint endeavour between the two respective regions which have come together socially, economically and politically to further tourism throughout the area. This will be followed by a discussion between two historically great ski champions, Pirmin Zurbriggen from Switzerland and Piero Gros, from Italy.
Valtournenche Centro Congressi
IN DISCESA LIBERA
with Peter Fill e Gerald Salmina
hosted by Luca Castaldini (La Gazzetta dello Sport)
saluti istituzionali
Proiezione speciale
STREIF – UNA DISCESA INFERNALE di Gerald Salmina (Austria, 2015, 98’)
Tennis has Wimbledon, football has Wembley and rugby has Millennium and Cardi . Skiing has the Gran Becca, part of Cervinia-Zermatt World Cup where the Speed Opening takes place between the end of October and the beginning of November with four downhill runs, made up of two male and two female categories. At the centre of all this is the Streif downhill slope in Austria. This is the Kitzbühel, a dangerous, technically challenging and ice- bound run, where every year as part of the World Cup, the legendary descent of the most famous downhill course takes place. At the Mausefalle, skiers take a 40-metre leap with a steep fall of 45 metres below them. To follow is a notorious leg (only 5 metres wide) and the breathtaking Diagonale before the last cannonball “schuss” run. The winner enters the skiing hall of fame and has a ski cable car named in their honour – in Austria the winner is regarded as ski royalty. Peter Fill won this honour in 2016 and Pirmin Zurbriggen has taken the title six times in all (with a hat-trick to boot). Piero Gros has won out at Kitz in the slalom category. These three gures will accompany us on a tour of some legendary moments, from the Streif to the Gran Becca, revisiting some of the greatest feats and protagonists of the world of skiing.
Pirmin Zurbriggen, champion all-rounder and top athlete of the Swiss team in the ‘80s, is one of the most successful skiers of all time. Among many accomplishments, he holds one gold and one bronze Olympic gold medal and has become champion of the World Cup four times.
Piero Gros is one of the stars of the “Valanga azzura” (blue avalanche) national Italian ski team, overall winner of the World Cup and winner of the World Cup giant slalom in 1974. He took the gold medal for the special slalom in the winter Olympics at Innsbruck in 1976 and silver and bronze in the world championship.
Peter Fill is the rst Italian athlete to achieve overall top ranking in the World Cup since Alberto Tomba. Built for speed racing, during his career he won two world cup medals in the downhill category (2016 and 2017) and the world cup in combined events (2018).
Gerald Salmina, now retired, has dedicated his energies to film, focussing on nature, sport and people who push themselves to the limit. In his cinematic endeavours Gerald achieves a balance between insightful storytelling and a feel for the dramatic and has established himself as a great talent in the world of mountain cinema.
Valtournenche Centro Congressi
ALLA RICERCA DEL GHIACCIO PERDUTO
In collaborazione con GRIVEL
with Kurt Diemberger, Christophe Profit, François Cazzanelli and Luca Mercalli
hosted by Oliviero Gobbi (Grivel)
The birth of mountaineering traditionally dates back to 1786, with the rst ascent of Mont Blanc. In its nearly 250 years of life, the activity has evolved continuously, reflecting the times, customs and visions of its protagonists as well as the evolution of techniques and materials.
The speed of this evolution has been particularly strong in the last 70 years, with the widening of the borders beyond the “native” Alps and a great increase in the technical level, in all disciplines.
We will talk about it with three absolute protagonists of their times: the Austrian Kurt Diemberger, 90 years old, very active between the 50s and 70s; the French Christophe Profit, now 61 years old, leading name of the 80s and 90s; and the Italian from Cervinia François Cazzanelli, 32 years old, today one of the most prominent names in mountaineering in the world.
Today, however, we must not reckon without the host: the ongoing climate changes drastically modify the “playing eld” of mountaineering and force the protagonists to adapt. The presence of the climatologist Luca Mercalli will allow to contextualize the situation and to stimulate the three mountaineers on a reflection that spans three generations and which necessarily looks to the future. Are we really “in search of the lost ice?”
Moderated by Oliviero Gobbi, owner of Grivel srl.
Christophe Profit – French, born in 1961. A very active mountain guide at the Compagnie des Guides de Chamonix and a leading mountaineer in the 80s and 90s, he has to his credit many important climbs in the Alps, often alone and at speed and in winter. He has also opened a new route on the north-west ridge of K2 (8611m).
Luca Mercalli – Italian meteorologist, climatologist and scienti c popularizer. Journalist and university lecturer, he regularly lectures and participates in television programs on the topics of climate change. He is also the author of various publications.
François Cazzanelli – Italian, born in 1990. Mountain guide of the Cervino Mountain Guides Association and guide instructor. All-round mountaineer, strong on all terrains, he is very active both in the “home” mountains and around the world, from Patagonia to the Himalayas. He has just returned from an expedition to Pakistan, where, after having climbed Nanga Parbat (8126m) at speed, he rescued a British mountaineer in di culty on Broad Peak (8,611m), giving up the summit.
Oliviero Gobbi – Owner of Grivel srl, one of the world’s leading players in technical mountain equipment. After a degree in physics, he worked for a few years as a strategic consultant in large multinationals before joining the family business, of which he has been CEO since 2012.
Valtournenche Piazzetta delle Guide
CERIMONIA DI PREMIAZIONE DELLA XXVa EDIZIONE DEL CERVINO CINEMOUNTAIN
BANDARADAN IN CONCERTO per i 25 anni del festival
visuals by Filippo Maria Pontiggia
The cosmopolitan music band Bandaradan have twenty years experience of festivals, shows and lm behind them. The group had its origins in Turin in 2002, its members come from a variety of musical backgrounds but were united by the sense of freedom they found in creating street music. They have grown into an orchestra of Dionysian energy, indulging in musical cabaret fused with Tzigane, Klezmer, Balkan rhythms and Latin-American beats. The ensemble is ignited by the explosive singer Mama Nastya from Odessa, with Isaac Witz (accordion), Janier Isusi (trumpet), Pier Paolo Cadeloro and Sebastian Loyola (saxophone), Davide Ritelli (double bass) and Federico Griso (drums), together they light up the stage with trumpet blasts, growling saxophones, sweet accordion notes and crazy rhythms.
As the audience enjoys listening or dancing to the music, they can take in a visual backdrop, highlighting 25 years of the festival courtesy of the video artist Filippo Maria Pontiggia who will curate images of festival guests or events over the years to be projected onto the surrounding walls of the Piazzetta delle Guide.
