Gian Carlo Grassi

Gian Carlo Grassi (Condove, October 14, 1946 - Monte Bove, April 1, 1991) was an Italian mountaineer and mountain guide. He was a pioneer of ice climbing in Italy in the 1980s, making many first ascents among waterfalls and in high mountains.

Biography

Originally from Val di Susa, in the 1970s he was part of the “New Morning” movement, where he associated with, among others, and Danilo Galante. These were the years of climbing routes in Orco Valley, on the Caporal and the Sergent, and bouldering on erratic blocks in the lower Val di Susa.

Towards the end of the 1970s, Grassi became passionate about the emerging discipline of icefall climbing and soon became a leading figure. Grassi also succeeded in applying ice climbing techniques to high mountains, becoming a specialist in climbing so-called ''phantom couloirs'', gullies where snow and ice create a climbable route only in winter.

During these years, he met and together they accomplished a series of significant ascents in the Mont Blanc massif. In 1978, they opened a new goulotte on the north face of the Aiguille Verte and the ''Ypercouloir'' on the south face of the Grandes Jorasses. In the summer of 1979, they undertook the extremely dangerous ascent of two seracs: on 4 July, the serac of Col Maudit, and on 11 August, the one to the left of the Poire. It was on a serac that, a few months later, Gianni Comino, just twenty-eight years old, lost his life. On 28 February 1980, after a thorough study of the terrain conditions, Comino attempted a solo ascent of the serac to the right of the Poire, but near the exit, a collapse of ice caused him to fall.

After Comino’s death, Grassi continued his ice exploration, climbing new icefalls throughout Piedmont and the Aosta Valley: in Valle Orco, Valli di Lanzo, Val di Susa, Val Varaita, and Val di Cogne. In 1983, with Isidoro Meneghin, he opened a new route on Monte Rosa, along the Pilastro Vincent at 4,050 m in one of the wildest sectors of the . Rated TD-. He also climbed abroad: in California, Canada, the Andes, Patagonia, and the Himalayas. In 1984, with Renato Casarotto and Guido Ghigo, he climbed ''Pomme d’Or'' in Quebec (180 meters of stalactite), ''Polar Circus'', and ''Slipstream'' (a 900-meter icefall) in the Canadian Rockies. In 1985, with Mauro Rossi, he repeated the ''Supercanaleta'' route on Fitz Roy

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