One Hour of Sheer Bliss

It was known as "the Forbidden Fruit" because of its reputation for being difficult to climb.  According to a moutaineering website, Mount Grivola is one of "the most exciting moutains in the entire Alps."  It was Pier Giorgio's dream to make it to the summit.  

At 2:45 p.m. on Saturday, September 13, 1924, Pier Giorgio wrote a postcard to send to his mother.  The message was short: 

I have returned safe and sound from a  magnificent climb after having  spent an hour of sheer bliss contemplating  the magnificent glaciers.  Kisses - P.G.

That same day, he also took time to write one of his famous "Proclamations" to his group of intimate friends known as the Tipi Loschi.  From the opening lines, his exuberance leaps off the page as his spirit "was taken over by great emotion through the view of the superb spectacles offered by nature."  He thoughtfully assured his friends how much he missed having them beside him on the climb and then provided them with the details he knew they would appreciate as fellow mountaineers. Reading his letter even today takes us there with him. 

With a guide and a porter, he arrived at the Vittorio Sella mountain shelter on the evening of September 12th "and after drinking a hot tea with jam we rested our bones on a comfortable bed."

At 4:30 a.m. the following morning they headed out and at 6 a.m. found themselves in view of the majesty of Mount Grivola.  "In that sublime moment it’s hard to say if in our hearts what prevailed was the joy of finding ourselves within a few steps of the foot of the Grivola or the fear of approaching a mountain of such forbidding notoriety."

At 10 a.m., he stood atop the 13-000-foot peak where he spent that one hour of sheer bliss, where he contemplated in that pure air the greatness of the Creator, where he became even more enchanted by the mountains, where his soul experienced pure joy.  Before making the descent, he recorded his achievement: 

"Not having a pen, we wrote on a Giovane Montagna Aosta section postcard we found there with a match which we dipped in some rouge left there by an English climber: “P.G. Frassati, C.A.I. and G.M., with the guide Cavagnet and the porter Marcello Cavagnet on 9-13-24.”—Undoubtedly few will understand what we wrote."

Having realized his dream of conquering Grivola, he was determined to put his climbing shoes away "and give them a well earned rest" and return to his studies.  Less than a year later, he climbed the mountain of the Lord and went to his well-earned eternal rest.

I recently came  upon a video posted by modern-day members of C.A.I. - the Italian Alpine Club whose initials Pier Giorgio proudly placed after his name on that piece of a postcard that he signed (using a match dipped in rouge!) and left on Mount Grivola. 

Their three-minute video shows the normal way an alpinist would attempt to climb Grivola.  It even includes the first leg of the journey to the very shelter where Pier Giorgio and his companions spent the night.  I'm sure the accommodations were a bit more rustic in 1924 not to mention his climbing gear.  But the sheer bliss at the top and the magnificent view doesn't seem to have changed a bit.  

See for yourself.  



Verso l'alto!  ///cmw