Romolo Nottaris
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Romolo Nottaris |
| Main discipline | Mountaineering |
| Other disciplines | Documentary filmmaker, expedition leader, mountain sports shoe designer |
| Born | September 7, 1946 Lugano, Switzerland |
| Nationality | Swiss |
| Career | |
| Notable ascents | Summits of Gasherbrum II and Makalu, alpine style |
Romolo Nottaris (born July 9, 1946 in Lugano, Switzerland) is a Swiss rock climber, mountaineer and documentary filmmaker. He was the first Swiss to climb an eight-thousander in alpine style, without supplementary oxygen, sherpas or fixed ropes.[1]
Background
[edit]Nottaris was born in Lugano in 1946, the third of four children of a warehouse worker and housewife. His family loved the mountains and outdoors, and was introduced to the mountains at the age of six.[1] At 14 he began guiding in the Alps,[2] and later was a professional poker player in Geneva.[3]
In the 1970s, Nottaris began collaborating with Radiotelevisione svizzera to create climbing documentaries. He would go on to make over twenty documentary films, covering expeditions to the Himalayas, Patagonia, Alaska and Antarctica.[4]
In 1971 he was the only survivor of an avalanche on Mont Blanc, an experience which seriously affected him.[2] He then turned to climbing in South America, making summits of Aconcagua, Chopicalqui and Huascaran.[2]
In 1978, Nottaris organized the first expedition from Ticino to the Himalaya. He returned several times to the Himalayas, and in particular with Erhard Loretan and Jean Troillet. That year he would climb Pumori (7,161m).[2]
Romolo Nottaris is an adherent of the "Alpine style" of mountaineering (i.e climbing without high altitude porters, fixed ropes and oxygen masks). He would be the first Swiss climb an eight-thousander in alpine style,[5] when he summited Gasherbrum II alongside Tiziano Zünd in 1981.[6]
In 1984, he summitted Makalu in alpine style.[7][8]
Apart from the Himalayas, Nottaris has organized expeditions in Alaska, Patagonia, and Antarctica. In 2007, he led an expedition to the virgin peak, Mount Stanley in South Georgia.[9]
In 2006, he was part of a rescue operation to find Swiss mountaineer Franco Dellatorre, who went missing while climbing in Patagonia.[10]
In 2021, the camera was turned on the documentary filmmaker, as Nottaris filmed Walking on the Peaks/In cammino sulle creste, a thirteen episode documentary where he guided eight young people on a 140 km alpine trek.[11] The series was later made available in new markets when it was picked up by Amazon Prime and Apple TV.[12]
In 2024, he was part of another documentary series, Da Paese che vai alla Via Crio highlighting over twenty years of mountaineering public broadcasting.[13]
Main expeditions
[edit]Nottaris has completed the following expeditions:[14]
- Aconcagua (6962 m), 1977[15]
- Pumori (7161 m) 1978
- Makalu (8462 m), 1981
- Gasherbrum II (8035 m), 1981
- Makalu (8462 m), 1982 with Jean Troillet (Could not reach the summit because of bad weather)
- Mount McKinley (6194 m), 1982
- Mount Everest (8848 m), 1983 with Jean Troillet (Could not reach the summit because of bad weather)
- Makalu (8462 m), 1984[16]
- Mount Epperly (4359 m), 1995 Antarctica with Erhard Loretan[17]
- Pumori (7161 m), 2002 with Erhard Loretan[18]
- Cerro Torre Cumbre (3128 m), 2006. Cumbre is a documentary film with Erhard Loretan
- Mount Vinson (4892 m) Antarctica
- Monte Sarmiento (2246 m) 2010
Businesses
[edit]In 1978, he founded "New Rock", a trading company for mountain equipment. He was the first in Switzerland to secure the exclusive distribution of Scarpa mountain boots.[19] His partnership with Scarpa turned into a collaboration, with Nottaris developing new designs for the company, including footwear for paragliding, and ski touring.[3]
He would later go on to develop a new company, "Alpine Style" with his son Daniele.[2] In 1993, he helped Scarpa develop the Denali ski and expedition boot.[20] With the profits of this company, Nottaris financed his expeditions and sponsored other mountaineers like Ueli Steck[21] and the Anthamatten brothers.
In 2023, Nottaris launched Uvarara, a wine company.[22]
Books
[edit]- Pumori: ticinesi in Himalaya del Nepal, Agno, 1980[23]
- Fascino dell'Himalaya: Makalu 8478 m, 1 tentativo invernale: Gasherbrum 2 8035 m, Agno, 1981 (mit T. Zünd)
- Antartide: ancora una leggenda, ADV, 1993 (Text von Gianni Caverzasio, Fhoto von Romolo Nottaris)
Filmography
[edit]- Cerro Torre Cumbre (Interview with Marco Pedrini, Film with Fulvio Mariani) 1986
- El Futre Mountain bike: Aconcagua (7035 m ) (Film with Fulvio Mariani) 1989[24]
- White-Out (Mount Epperly with Erhard Loretan) 1996[25]
- La danza della foca leopardo
- Tre passi nel regno del fantastico (with Gianluigi Quarti), 2005
- Romolo senza frontiere, 2012[26]
- La magia del continente bianco (Film with Fulvio Mariani), 2013
- Romulus Nottaris, 2014[27]
- Walking on the Peaks (Thirteen episode documentary)[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "ROMOLO NOTTARIS". 30° Degrés Magazine (in German). 2022-11-24. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
- ^ a b c d e Zanchetta, Marco (2024-07-09). "Tanti auguri a Romolo Nottaris". Montagna.TV (in Italian). Retrieved 2024-07-10.
- ^ a b "Scarpa Firmenporträt". outdoor-guide.ch (in German). Retrieved 2024-07-10.
- ^ ""La Via Crio? Paesaggi stupendi, ma non tutti possono andarci solo perché la televisione li ha mostrati"". CORSI (in Italian). 2024-01-30. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
- ^ "Über uns – NEW ROCK S.A." (in German). Retrieved 2024-07-10.
- ^ Pasturo/I, Christine Kopp , Muri BE und (2019-09-17). "Vor 30 Jahren – Schweizer im Alpinstil auf einem Achttausender". Schweizer Alpen-Club SAC (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 2024-07-10.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Almanac". www.8000ers.com. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
- ^ "AAC Publications - Asia, Nepal, Makalu, West Face Attempt and Rapid West Buttress Ascent". publications.americanalpineclub.org. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
- ^ "Skip Novak News Pages". www.pelagic.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
- ^ Redazione (2006-12-29). "Dato per morto il disperso in Patagonia". Montagna.TV (in Italian). Retrieved 2024-07-10.
- ^ ""La Via Crio? Paesaggi stupendi, ma non tutti possono andarci solo perché la televisione li ha mostrati"". CORSI (in Italian). 2024-01-30. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
- ^ "Walking on the Peaks - Apple TV (IE)". Apple TV. 2024-02-27. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
- ^ "Da Paese che vai alla Via Crio: in cammino sulle nostre cime con la RSI". CORSI (in Italian). 2024-02-27. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
- ^ List of Swiss expeditions over 7000 m
- ^ Alpinwiki
- ^ The American Alpine Journal
- ^ Jean Ammann et Erhard Loretan, Les 8000 rugissants, Fribourg, 1996, p. 175
- ^ "WHITE - OUT SOLO DANS LES 80.EMC". Trento Film Festival. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
- ^ "Zauber des Südens". www.baechli-bergsport.ch (in German). Retrieved 2024-07-10.
- ^ "History". SCARPA UK. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
- ^ Interview with Ueli Steck
- ^ "Romolo Nottaris all'inseguimento delle vette del vino". Corriere del Ticino (in Italian). 2023-06-23. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
- ^ "Library of Congress LCCN Permalink n81043791". lccn.loc.gov. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
- ^ "EL FUTRE". Trento Film Festival. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
- ^ Travels in Another World
- ^ "Romolo senza frontiere (2012) - MNTNFILM". www.mntnfilm.com. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
- ^ "Romolo Nottaris - Doc". Play Suisse (in Italian). Retrieved 2024-07-10.
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