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It fascinates at the mountain across the scientist barnabita Francesco
Denza, founder of the weather observatory of Moncalieri.
At 16 years it is embarked on the Brigantino Amerigo Vespucci,
where meets Umberto Cagni Tenents of vessel of the Amerigo Vespucci
and his fixed companion in the future explorations.
1892-1894 He trained himself climbing the White Mountain,
the Pink Mountain, and the Cervino. It was the first one to climb
the Denti del Gigante (Tooth of the Giant); therefore he reached
the peak of the Cervino together with Mummery, in january the 27th
1894, across a new, dangerous and unexplored road: the crest Zmutt.
The meticulous planning was a feature and a key of the success
of every expedition of the Duke. In fact before every journey he
dedicated lots of time and entire months to the preparation, documenting
himself, doing and doing meticulous calculations, monitoring every
detail….
1894 it is embarked on the Cristoforo Columbus for a diplomatic
mission that endure 26 months. During the journey it lands to Vancouver
and he knows the Massif of the Sant' Elia (mt. 5.489), situated
to the boundary between Alaska and Yucon.
1898 Climb to the third point of the Grandes Jorasses with
the leader of Courmayeur, Petigax.
Mountain signalled by the Danish Vitus Bering in 1741 and by James
Cook in 1778. The name Sant' Elia was given by James Cook, while
Bering had called Sant' Elia the Cape on the sea.
The shipping is composed from Umberto Cagni, Francesco Gonella
(President of the CAI), Filippo De Filippi, Vittorio Sella, cousin
of De Filippi and grandchild of Quintino Sella (Founder of the CAI),
and Erminio Botta, together with four guides: Joseph Pitigax and
Laurent Croux of Courmayeur, Jean Antoine Maquignaz and Andrea Pelissier
of Valtournenche.
The group leaves from Liverpool to New York and go through the
United States provoking a lot of interest and curiosity, because
we have to remember that at that time " Italians were considered
a population of emigrants and poor fellows"
The peak was reached the 2sd August 1897, after an unforgettable
and tiring crossing of the glacier Malaspina.
Autumn 1998, he goes to Siberia to Irkutsk, together with Cagni
to gain the dogs for slides. Andree with the dirigible was missing
on the pack.
The shipping is composed of 11 Italians: Umberto Cagni, Francesco
Querini, the doctor one Achille Cavalli, Mulinelli, four guides:
Petigax, Felix Ollier, Cyprien Savie and Alexis Fenoillet, two sailors:
Giacomo Cardenti and Simone Canepa, a cook: Gino Gini and eight
Norwegians to the lead of the ship. In fact the Duke of Abruzzi
bought a three trees whale-boat to hunti the seals "Jason",
that after timely alterations was named "Stella Polare"
("Polestar").
The Polestar sailed from Christiana (today Oslo) in june 12th 1899.
To the port of Archangel the 121 Russian slides dogs, gained in
Siberia, had been embarked. In July 12th he sails towards the Arctic
ocean, directed to Cape Flora in the archipelago of Francesco Giuseppe,
where he left a stock of food and materials. This deposit was found
in 1911 bu the Russian expedition of Valeria Albanov and discribed
in the book "In the land of the White Deaf" published
by Corbaccio.
Therefore he sailed towards the Arctic and he casted anchor in
the Bay of Teplitz in the Land of the Prince Rodolfo, to 80°47'N.
The bay seemed to offer a rather secure shelter to pass the winter,
to avoid the grip of the pressure of the ices on the ship. In spite
of that the pressure of the ice cause big leaks and the ship comes
left.
During the polar winter, the Duke had an accident freezing a hand
with the consequency of the amputation of some hosts and the lead
of the shipping towards the North Pole past to Cagni.
The expedition start in february 20th but by means of rather serious
accidents, happened in the first stroke of the shipping, all of
the groups return to the base.
After the intense activities of reparation of the slides and of
the harness for the dogs, the shipping left in March 11th
1900.
Between three teams that had left from the Base Field to reach
the North Pole, just those of Cagni continued beyond 83°16'N,
to the temperature of -47°.
The Team of Querini, Stokken and Ollier went back to Tepliz but
it’ll never arrive: it get missing in the large arctic pack.
The Team of Cardenti, Mulinelli and Sevie went back after sixteen
days of large effort and sufferings, retracing 140 kilometers.
Cagni and companions go through the parallel 85°N in April
17th and they reached the 86°34'N the 25th
of April, surpassing the Nansen’s record of 37 Km but still
381 Km far from the Pole!
Cagni decides to return to the base. The return was dramatic because
of the drift that moved them far from the goal: they came back to
the base in june 10th , after 45 days from the beginning
of the return journey!
The 16th of August, finished the intense activities
of accommodation of the Polestar, the expedition leaves the bay
of Tepliz to reach the port of Hammerfest the 5th of
September.
It is with the deaf of Henry Morton
Stanley that the Duke Luigi Amedeo of Savoia begins to get interest
in Ruwenzori, after reading a summary of the lecture of Stanley
where it says " …I hope that a man voted to his work, a passionate
climber, take in consideration study the Ruwenzori, exploring it
from the top to the fund. Across its enormous crests and its deep
channels".
Spring 1906, the expedition leaves to reach the peak of
the Ruwenzori. In May 15th 1906, the shipping leaves
the lake Victory.
Peak of Mountain Stanley, 5.125 meters, reached in june 18th
1906.
The organization of the shipping to the K2 happens in January 1909.
The group of the shipping: Vittorio Sella, climber and photographer.
Guides from Valle d’Aosta: Joseph Petigax and its son Laurent,
the brothers Alexis. Bearers: Emile Brocherel, Albert Savie, Ernest
Bareaux. Other climbers: Federico Negretto, Filippo De Filippi,
Erminio Botta.
May 1909: assault to the top of the K2. June 1st, formation
of the fourth field at 5.560 meters. After varied attempts, at 6.666
meters, the Duke hadv to renounce to go further.
The shipping carried out lots of scientific surveys, it measured
different glaciers, a lot of map had been completed but he had to
renounce to climb the K2.
He died in march 18th 1933 in Ghiohàr in Somalia,
where he had been found the Village Duke of the Abruzzi:
a village-agricultural entreprice to test new technical of cultivation
and transformation of the products. In 1926 the colony included
16 villages inhabited from 3.000 Somalian and 200 Italians. There
were an hospital, a school, shops, factories, a mosque and a catholic
church.
We did not find a lot web on the explorer. Here it is one:
www.guardiedonore.it/02/0201/0201e/a04.htm
Situated in Turin, on the hill where there is the Cloister of the
Cappuccinos, in a panoramic position that allow to observe, from
the turret called "Look-out", quite 240 km of the chain
of the Alps: from the Monviso to the Pink Mountain!
The Museum was found in 1874 by the first partners of the (Clab
Alpino Italiano —CAI) Italian Mountain Club, fouded by Quintino
Sella. There are objects given from the Duke of Savoia after the
expedition of the Polestar.
The rooms are dedicated to different aspects of the mountain: the
Guides, the nature, the mountain environment, the rocks and the
minerals, the birds of the mountain and alpine environment, the
mammals, the mountain flora, the natural parks, the rocky engravings,
the manufactured articles made in wood and the handicraft products.
A plan is dedicated to the climbing activity and to its development
in the time, with the deepening of the story of the Italian Mountain
Club (CAI); there are also objects and story about to extraeuropean
explorations particularly to the chain of Himalaia. In the room
XVII there are some porthole through which it’s possible to
observe photographies maded by Vittorio Sella on the top of the
mountain, himalaian and caucasian.
Finally there is a room with a collection of models of the mountain
shelters and with the description of mountain climbing technical,
with technical tools. There is also the model of the Old Daisy Observatory
Hut realized on the Point Gnifetti (4.551 meters), in the past century.
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