Angelo Dibona (7 April 1879 – 21 April 1956, nickname: Pilato) was an

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

and

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

mountaineer Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become sports ...

. He is remembered as one of the great pioneers of climbing 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 ...

and is responsible for many first ascents throughout the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

. The Aiguille Dibona in France, the Campanile Dibona ( Monte Cristallo) and the Dibona-Kante on the Cima Grande di Lavaredo (both in Italy) are named after him.

Biography

Dibona was born in

Cortina d'Ampezzo Cortina d'Ampezzo (; , ; historical ) sometimes abbreviated to simply Cortina, is a town and ''comune'' in the heart of the southern (Dolomites, Dolomitic) Alps in the province of Belluno, in the Veneto region of Northern Italy. Situated on the ...

in 1879. From 1905 he was a mountain guide and a ski instructor in the Cortina area, and he became known for pioneering routes in the Dolomites, making more than 70 first ascents and becoming the leading climber during the heyday of climbing in the Dolomites. In 1910 he made the second ascent of the Christomannosturm in the

Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol ( ; ; ), often known in English as Trentino-South Tyrol or by its shorter Italian name Trentino-Alto Adige, is an Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Italy, located in the ...

, 13 years after its first ascent. Dibona's route included a high rock face with fifth-degree passages. He made notable ascents of a number of peaks in other parts of the Alps in the early 1900s. In the course of his life he climbed Italian, Austrian, German, French, Swiss, British and Slovenian mountains. One of his most notable first ascents was of the Pain de Sucre du Soreiller, a granite peak in the French

Massif des Écrins Massif des Écrins (; Écrins Massif) are a massif in the French Alps. They form the core of Écrins National Park in Hautes-Alpes and Isère.Guido Mayer (an Austrian client with whom he climbed many peaks in the Dolomites and other parts of the Alps). This mountain was renamed the Aiguille Dibona in his honor. Dibona developed a long-term and almost symbiotic friendship with Mayer and his brother. The first ascent of Dibona with Luigi Rizzi and the brothers Guido and Max Mayer on the very high southwest face of the Croz dell'Altissimo (Brenta) is known, where Dibona made sections of the upper V ° during complete free climbing on August 16, 1910. He became one of the most famous guides and mountaineers ever. The Belgian King Albert I and the two baronesses Ilona und Rolanda von Eötvös, for example, were also among his customers. Angelo Dibona was not only an alpine guide, but also became one of the first three ski instructors in Cortina d'Ampezzo in 1911. In the First World War he fought as a

Kaiserjäger The ''Kaiserjäger'' (officially designated by the Imperial and Royal (''k.u.k.'') military administration as the ''Tiroler Jäger-Regimenter'' or "Tyrolean Rifle Regiments"), were formed in 1895 as four normal infantry regiments within the Comm ...

on the

side together with

Luis Trenker Luis Trenker (born Alois Franz Trenker, 4 October 1892 – 12 April 1990) was a South Tyrolean film producer, director, writer, actor, architect, alpinist, and bobsledder. Biography Early life Alois Franz Trenker was born on 4 October 1892 in ...

and was awarded two medals of bravery and the "Iron Merit Cross with Crown" (Eiserne Verdienstkreuz mit der Krone). He fought on the Isonzo, Mangart, Ortler and Presanella. His special task was to lay telephone lines through seemingly inaccessible walls. He experienced the end of the "Mountain Guide War" in 1918 on the Ortler, together with his best friend Franz Aschenbrenner. Other well-known mountaineers such as Sepp Innerkofler,

Gustav Jahn Gustav Jahn (17 May 1879 – 17 August 1919) was a landscape painter, poster artist and mountaineer who lived most of his life in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Early life and education Gustav Jahn was born in 1879 in Vienna. From his youth, ...

and Rudl Eller were his comrades on the Dolomite front. During the war he also worked as a course leader and instructor for mountain combat. In the 1920s he climbed in the English

Lake District The Lake District, also known as ''the Lakes'' or ''Lakeland'', is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...

, making first ascents of

gills A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ...

in the Honister Pass area. In 1947 the

Appalachian Mountain Club Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) is the oldest outdoor group in the United States. Created in 1876 to explore and preserve the White Mountains (New Hampshire), White Mountains in New Hampshire, it has expanded throughout the northeastern U.S., wit ...

reported that Dibona was still doing "spectacular" rock climbs at the age of 65. In the controversy between Paul Preuss and Hans Dülfer about the use of pitons when climbing from before the 1st World War, Dibona spoke out in favor of safety. When Luis Trenker asked how many pitons he had hit in total, Dibona replied: "Fifteen, six of them on the Laliderer north face, three on the Ödstein, two on the Croz dell 'Altissimo, one on the Einser and the rest on other difficult climbs." When asked about his three most difficult tours, he said: "The south face of the Meije, then the Dent de Réquin and the Ailefroide." In 1953, Dibona's daughter Antonia opened a refuge near the Tofana and named it after him. The Rifugio Tarditi, named after the Italian section commander, was already in the same place during the First World War. In 1976, a monument in the form of a bronze bust was erected to him in a prominent place on the main square of Cortina, the place mentioned later "Piazza Angelo Dibona". At the inauguration, Luis Trenker said: “He was the most famous and successful mountain guide of his time, perhaps the most universal. No other Dolomite guide can show similar achievements, and there will soon be none among the young who will match him in human size ... " In 2006 there was a large exhibition in Cortina about the achievements and first ascents of Dibona. In an interview in 2009

Reinhold Messner Reinhold Andreas Messner (; born 17 September 1944) is an Italian climber, explorer, and author from the German-speaking province of South Tyrol. He made the first solo ascent of Mount Everest and, along with Peter Habeler, the first ascent o ...

explicitly described Angelo Dibona as one of the greatest Austrian mountaineers. In 2013 a large mandala in honor of Angelo Dibona was made in memory in Cortina by an artist with locals and children.

Notable first ascents

*Campanile Dibona (west peak, , Monte Cristallo, 1908—solo) *Oberbachernturm-Nordwand/Torre Fiscalina (

Sexten Dolomites The Sexten Dolomites (; ) is a mountain range and a nature reserve in South Tyrol, Italy. The nature park was renamed in 2010 to Naturpark Drei Zinnen – Parco Naturale Tre Cime. Peaks References External links Civic network of South ...

, 27 July 1909—with L. Rizzi, Guido Mayer, Max Mayer) *Einser/Cima Una (north face, Sexten Dolomites, 18 July 1910—with L. Rizzi, Guido Mayer, Max Mayer) *Südlicher Zwölfer/Croda dei Toni (, Sexten Dolomites, 22 July 1910—with L. Rizzi, Guido Mayer, Max Mayer) *Campanile Rosa ( Tofane, 17 August 1910) *Tofana di Rozes (south-south-west, , Tofane, 3 September 1930—with L. Apollonio and P.L. Edwards) *Punta Michele (north face, , Piz Popena, 1944—at age 65)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dibona, Angelo 1879 births 1956 deaths Alpine guides Italian mountain climbers Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I People from Cortina d'Ampezzo