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Magic Line: Bonatti represents the true spirit of Alpinism
Agu 2, 2004 18: 03 EST
As the Abruzzi teams left BC during the weekend, the Magic Line Catalonian team continues to have their eyes fixed on the mountain, and the difficult and beautiful line they are ready to climb as soon as weather allows.
AdventureWeather forecast of today shows abundant showers on Monday and Tuesday, and very high winds at summit level. Later in the week a ridge is expected to move in from Afghanistan giving K2 drier conditions and lower summit winds, maybe allowing for a summit-push.
Saturday, The Magic Boys were celebrating the K2 anniversary - and - as always, they did it their way. They focused their homage in particular to a character of the story that, although he played a fundamental role in K2's conquest, is rarely mentioned these days: No other than Walter Bonatti is the center of their tribute.
The ambitious Bonatti, an Alpine legend, stands out in the controversy about the obscure events that took place during the night before K2's summit was reached for the very first time.
Bonatti was 24 when he joined Ardito Desio’s National Italian team to K2. Not only the summit was on stake, but the pride of a whole country struggling to find a first-line place in the history of alpine adventures.
When Aquille Compagnioni and Lino Lacedelli left their highest camp on their summit bid, young Walter and Madhi, the only Balti porter still capable of climbing high, was ordered to get them some O2 bottles. Problem was that the high camp was not where it was supposed to be, but slightly higher.
Walter and Madhi arrived in the middle of the night and couldn’t see the tents, and called out their mate’s names. A reply came; to leave the bottles on the spot and return to lower camps.
Well, they didn’t. According to Bonatti, since they were too exhausted to move, the spent the night out in the snow. They survived the night at 8000m, Madhi losing all his fingers to frostbite.
Some time after the expedition, the press accused Bonatti of trying to steal the Oxygen to attempt the summit himself; he instead accused Achille and Lino: “They left us out there to die.” Bonnati was isolated for years, and his name is still somewhat of a taboo when it comes to the -54 italian K2 expedition.
Walter Bonatti kept on climbing, and became a living legend to several generations of climbers around the world. Solo climbs, first ascents, new technical routes all over the world, elegance in the itineraries and methods, Bonatti proved without a shadow of doubt that he was one of the best climbers of his time, if not in all of climbing history.
Writes the Magic Line team in their last dispatch: “Bonatti represents the true spirit of Alpinism: Commitment, exposure, tenacity, courage and self discipline. Those are precisely the values that brought us to the Magic Line”.
“Face the void from the mountains to find myself...”; those Bonatti’s words have a special meaning to us now, after living face to face with K2 for two months.”
Oscar Cadiach, Jordi Corominas, Jordi Tosas, Manel de la Matta and Valen Giró are attempting the first repetition of the Magic Line, once described as suicidal by Reinhold Messner, and considered the most difficult route on K2. They’ve made it as high as C3, at 7500m, and now are in BC waiting for a weather window to launch their summit bid.
Image of Magic Line team celebrating K2 50 Anniversary shows, from left to right, Giró, Tosas, Cadiach, de la Matta and, on orange jacket, Corominas. Copyright K2 Magic Line 2004 Expedition.
Image of Bonatti in his twenties, courtesy of Pistehors.com
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