Adolf respectively Adolfo Kind (1848 in

Chur , neighboring_municipalities= Arosa, Churwalden, Tschiertschen-Praden, Domat/Ems, Felsberg, Malix, Trimmis, Untervaz, Pfäfers , twintowns = Bad Homburg (Germany), Cabourg (France), Mayrhofen (Austria), Mondorf-les-Bains (Lux ...

– August 1907) was a Swiss

chemical engineer In the field of engineering, a chemical engineer is a professional, equipped with the knowledge of chemical engineering, who works principally in the chemical industry to convert basic raw materials into a variety of products and deals with the ...

and one of the fathers of

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee ...

Life

Kind was born in 1848 to a German-speaking

Walser The Walser people are the speakers of the Walser German dialects, a variety of Highest Alemannic. They inhabit the region of the Alps of Switzerland and Liechtenstein, as well as the fringes of Italy and Austria. The Walser people are named ...

family, which had been living in

for more than four centuries. When his father was appointed pastor of the Evangelic Church the family went to

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 ...

but they removed to Switzerland at the beginning of the Sardinian War in 1859 where they lived in Graubünden. Afterwards Kind studied

chemical engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials in ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

und

Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zürich () i ...

and went back to Italy in 1879 where he worked in the direction of a candle and soap company. He started a family and went to

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. Th ...

in 1890 where he worked in a

candle wick A candle wick is usually a braided cotton that holds the flame of an oil lamp or candle. A candle wick works by capillary action, conveying ("wicking") the fuel to the flame. When the liquid fuel, typically melted candle wax, reaches the flame ...

company.

Skiing

Kind's family and friends became interested in skiing, while living in Turin, from his connections to the Swiss canton of

Glarus , neighboring_municipalities= Glarus Nord, Glarus Süd, Muotathal (SZ), Innerthal (SZ) , twintowns= Wiesbaden-Biebrich (Germany) } Glarus (; gsw, Glaris; french: Glaris; it, Glarona; rm, Glaruna) is the capital of the canton of Glarus i ...

. Kind started the import to the city since 1896. Their efforts to develop uphill and descending ski techniques inspired a number of skiing fans in the region. Kind,

Luciano Roiti Luciano is an Italian, Spanish and Portuguese given name and surname. It is derived from Latin ''Lucianus'', patronymic of '' Lucius'' (" Light"). The French form is '' Lucien'', while the Basque form is '' Luken''. Single name * Luciano (r ...

Ottorino Mezzalama Ottorino Mezzalama (born September 25, 1888 – February 23, 1931) was an Italian mountain climber, and is deemed to be one of the two pioneers of Italian ski mountaineering besides Luciano Roiti. He died in an avalanche accident in the Rochemolle ...

and some other friends were members of the

Club Alpino Italiano The Club Alpino Italiano is the senior Italian alpine club which stages climbing competitions, operates alpine huts, marks and maintains paths, and is active in protecting the Alpine environment. It was founded in Turin in 1863 by the then fin ...

(CAI). On his initiative the Italian alpine club founded the

Ski Club Torino A ski is a narrow strip of semi-rigid material worn underfoot to glide over snow. Substantially longer than wide and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partial ...

in 1901, where he was the first president until 1907, and two further ones in

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of t ...

and Milan. He a founder of the Club Alpino Accademico Italiano (CAAI), a chapter of the

, which cooperated with the skiing club of Turin since 1904. He was president of the 400-member, five-club union, the ''Unione Ski Clubs Italiani'', founded in 1908. He met with an accident in a tragical way on the ascent to

Piz Bernina Piz Bernina ( Romansh, it, Pizzo Bernina, ) is the highest mountain in the Eastern Alps, the highest point of the Bernina Range, and the highest peak in the Rhaetian Alps. It rises and is located south of Pontresina and near the major Alpi ...

in 1907. A mountain hut, ''la Capanna Kind'', was named after him having been built in 1912 with materials brought to its mountain site on the backs of mules. His great grandsons include

Paolo Kind Paolo Kind was an early Italian ski jumper and sports official. Paolo Kind was a son of Adolfo Kind. He started skiing in the 1890s. When his father died in an mountaineering accident in 1907, he followed him as the second president of the Ski Clu ...

, Renzo Kind, and Andrea Kind.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kind, Adolfo 1848 births 1907 deaths People from Chur Italian male alpine skiers Italian male ski mountaineers Sportspeople from Turin Technical University of Munich alumni

Life

Skiing

See also

References