Cervino

The great North faces of the Alps have been and still are the point of reference, the final exam for climbers. They were the terrain on which the last fires of "conquering" mountaineering in Europe were played out. The North face of the Matterhorn was no exception in terms of mixed climbing difficulty and danger, but it was the first to fall, in 1931, thanks to the Schmid brothers, exponents of the famous Munich school. Franz and Toni, who would die the following year, reached Zermatt by bicycle: a good 5 days of climbing and descending before they could tackle the mountain and the 1200 meter difference in altitude of the north face, exposed to rockfall, on which they fought for two days. Against the backdrop of this and other historic feats, such as Walter Bonatti's first winter ascent in 1965, two young alpine guides attempt the first winter ascent in a single day.