Maurizio "Manolo" Zanolla (born in

Feltre Feltre (; ) is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Belluno in Veneto, northern Italy. A hill town in the southern reaches of the province, it is located on the Stizzon River, about from its junction with the Piave, and southwest from Bell ...

, 16 February 1958) is an Italian

rock climber Rock climbing is a climbing sports discipline that involves ascending routes consisting of natural rock in an outdoor environment, or on artificial resin climbing walls in a mostly indoor environment. Routes are documented in guidebooks, and ...

and mountaineer, and a pioneer of

sport climbing Sport climbing (or bolted climbing) is a type of free climbing in the sport of rock climbing where the Lead climbing, lead climber clips their climbing rope, rope — via a quickdraw — into pre-drilled in-situ bolt (climbing), bolts for their ...

in Italy during the 1980s and 1990s.

Climbing career

Manolo came to international attention with his

free solo Free solo climbing, or free soloing, is a form of rock climbing where the climber (or ''free soloist'') climbs Solo climbing, solo (or alone) without Climbing rope, ropes or other Rock climbing equipment#Protection devices, protective equipmen ...

s in the

Dolomites The Dolomites ( ), also known as the Dolomite Mountains, Dolomite Alps or Dolomitic Alps, are a mountain range in northeastern Italy. They form part of the Southern Limestone Alps and extend from the River Adige in the west to the Piave Va ...

. In 1986, he became one of the first Italians to climb a route of grade with ''l'Ultimo Movimento'' in Totoga in the Pale di San Martino. In 1992, he became one of the first Italians to

a grade route, with ''Masala Dosa'' on the wall of "San Silvestro" in 1992. In 1981, with Alessandro Gogna, he climbed the Aguglia of Goloritzè in Sardinia, initiating the original development of the Selvaggio Blu trekking route.

Notable ascents

Redpoint

* : ** ''Bimbaluna'' – Saint-Loup (SUI) – 20 January 2008. Repeat of

Fred Nicole Fred Nicole (born 21 May 1970) is a Swiss rock climber known for his first ascents of extreme sport climbing routes and for pioneering the development of standards and techniques in modern bouldering in the 1990s and early 2000s; he is considered ...

's 2004 route; Manolo was almost 50 at the time and the hardest routes in the world were only at 9a+/b. * : ** ''Eternit'' – Vette Feltrine/Baule (ITA) – 24 August 2009. First ascent; continuation of ''O ce l'hai..''. ** ' – Saint-Loup (SUI) – 2006. Repeat of

's 1993 route. * : ** ''Roby Present'' – Val Noana (ITA) – 24 March 2012. First ascent; dedicated to Roberto Bassi. *: ** ''Eroi Fragili'' – Val Noana (ITA) – 5 March 2011. First ascent ** ''Stramonio'' – Val Noana (ITA) – 10 October 2010. First ascent ** ''Thin ice'' –

Terlago Terlago (''Terlác'' in local dialect) was a ''comune'' (municipality) in Trentino in the northern Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about northwest of Trento. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,571 and an area o ...

(ITA) – 25 April 2009. Route freed by Nico Favresse, 2007 ** ''El sior Favonio'' –

Fonzaso Fonzaso is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Belluno in the Italy, Italian region Veneto, located about northwest of Venice and about southwest of Belluno. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 3,412 and an area of .All dem ...

(ITA) – 2006. First ascent ** ''Diabloluna'' – Fonzaso (ITA) – 2006 ** ''L'Arte di Salire in Alto'' – Celva (ITA) – 2002. Rare repeat of Rolando Larcher's first-ever Italian 8c route from 1992. ** ''The Dream'' – Val Noana (ITA) – October 1991. First ascent * : ** ''Appigli Ridicoli'' – Vette Feltrine/Baule (ITA) – 1990. First ascent; Manulo reclimbed it in 2001 without using his original drilled one-finger pocket hold, and regraded it to over 8c (now considered 9a). ** ''Malvasia'' – Dvigrad (CRO) – 1988. First ascent; now considered 8c+ after some of the holds broke. ** ''Il Maratoneta'' – Paklenica (CRO) – 1987. First ascent, and only two yeaars after the first-ever 8b+. * : ** ''O ce l'hai… o ne hai bisogno'' – Vette Feltrine/Baule (ITA) – 1990 ** ''Ultimo Movimento'' – Totoga (ITA) – 1986. First ascent and first-ever in Italy. * : ** ''Terminator'' – Totoga (ITA) – 1985. First ascent and first-ever in Italy. * : ** ''Il Mattino dei Maghi'' – Totoga (ITA) – 1981. First ascent, and possibly one of the earliest 7c+ routes.

Onsight Glossary of climbing terms relates to rock climbing (including aid climbing, lead climbing, bouldering, and competition climbing), mountaineering, and to ice climbing. ebook: The terms used can vary between different English-speaking countries; ...

* ''Rock and Blues'' ,

Kalymnos Kalymnos (; ) is a Greek island and municipality in the southeastern Aegean Sea. It belongs to the Dodecanese island chain, between the islands of Kos (south, at a distance of ) and Leros (north, at a distance of less than ): the latter is lin ...

(GRE) – 19 June 2009. Manolo was 51 at the time. * ''La Pista'' , Arco – 1989. * ''La Fissure Serge'' (7c+), Buoux – 1988.

Free solo Free solo climbing, or free soloing, is a form of rock climbing where the climber (or ''free soloist'') climbs Solo climbing, solo (or alone) without Climbing rope, ropes or other Rock climbing equipment#Protection devices, protective equipmen ...

* ''Masala Dosa'' in Totoga, in San Silvestro cliff – 1992. * ''La Gatta'' , Mount Totoga – 1990.

Bibliography

* *

References

Extermal links

Manolo: climbing and informed choices
''PlanetMountain'' (2014) 1958 births Living people Italian rock climbers Free soloists {{Italy-sport-bio-stub