Macugnaga, Piedmont - ITALY - the celebrations for the 150th anniversary of the first climb to the top of Dufour Peak

The Alpine Guide of Alagna Valsesia, Michele "Longhez" Cucchi and Michele Enzio on Dufour Top with age costumes.

Macugnaga, Piedmont - ITALY - the celebrations for the 150th anniversary of the first climb to the top of Dufour Peak, the highest of the peaks which make up Monte Rosa, which took place exactly 150 ago on the 1st of August 1855, have just ended. It has been a three day's weekend of intensive activities which involved the three main cities surrounding Monte Rosa: Saturday, July 30th in Alagna Valsesia (Italy); Sunday, July 31st in Macugnaga; Monday the 1st August in Zermatt (Switzerland).

On the 31 of July in Macugnaga Professor Riccardo Beltramo from the University of Turin, presented the Protocol of Ecocompatibility for Extraeuropean Expeditions.

Among the hundreds of partecipants of this very special event was the Italian Minister of Agriculture Gianni Alemanno who, after spending the night at Regina Margherita Hut, at an altitude of 4554 mt. climbed to the top of Dufour Peak where he met the Swiss Minister of the Treasure Joseph Deiss.

Before leaving for Zermatt, the two Ministers, celebrated the spectacular climbing by depositing on the top of the mountain a memorial plaque running "What you think to be the peak is nothing but a step" by L.A. Seneca.

In the climbing to the top of Monte Rosa, the Minister Gianni Alemanno, was accompanied by the Chief Expedition and President of Monte Rosa Anniversary Luca Succi, Silvio "Gnaro" Mondinelli, Marco "Macho" Confortola, Fabio Iacchini and Chicca Piolini who will partecipate to the Celebrative Expedition which is leaving for the Himalaya on the 5th of September with the aim of climbing to the top of the Shisha Pangma.

    Photo: On Dufour Top, (left) Swiss Minister of the Treasure Joseph Deiss, President of Zermatt Tourism Daniel Luggen e the Italian Minister of Agriculture Gianni Alemanno.

    Photo: Zumstein Peak and in the background Regina Margherita Hut, from summit of Dufour Peak.

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