Short roping
There is a young man who wants to try something, to pursue a dream that was his father’s. Something that would be impossible without the right buddy; something that will not proof or change anything, besides the beauty of trying.
Try to spend a couple of days in Valtournenche. Every morning from your bed you can see the sun rising on these impressive mountains. If you look carefully, from the station of Plateau Rosa you can see a continuous ridge, sharp and steep, that connects some of the main mountain massifs of Valtournenche: the Matterhorn, the Grandes Murailles and the Petites Murailles. This ridge comprises a total of 20 peaks: the highest is the Matterhorn with its 4478 metres; the lowest is Mont Blanc du Créton, 3406 metres.
In winter they become even more majestic and elegant, thanks to the snow that covers them entirely. Observe that ridge that links them all, running along the edge of the sky. You will feel its call.
François, born and bred here, has a dream: to link all these peaks, in the coldest season and in the shortest possible time. It’s an audacious idea, suggested by his father, Valter Cazzanelli, for whom this linkage remains an unfulfilled dream. Being able to do it would have a special value.
Trying to overcome our limits is one of the fundamental points of mountaineering. Trying to link a large number of peaks as fast as possible in the coldest season is a new challenge, and an old dream.
The point is not why, but why not. On a cold winter day, with these ideas in mind, François Cazzanelli ropes up with his good friend Francesco Ratti and steps from his home’s door into a new adventure.
