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Michel needs no introduction,
he is one of the best contemporary
alpinisti, certainly one of the most
popular. Precursor and innovative,
Michel was one of the first to use
spits on mountains, with thriftiness,
to create masterpieces which are today
esteemed by climbers all over the
world. What moves Michel is an extraordinary
and endless passion for opening. In
fact, he has opened hundreds of routes
on rocks all over the world and he
obviously could not avoid expressing
himself on Sardinian rocks too. That
is how he left us a nice gift on the
Giradili rocks, one of the best long
routes on our island!
Where do
you live?
In Geneve, in Switzerland,
at the feet of the other part of the
Alps.
Do you love
your homeland or would you want to
live somewhere else?
It isn’t bad, there are many
things to do, but the climate is horrible!
There is fog 4 months each year!
How did you
discover Sardinia?
My friend Manlio Motto
talked to me about it.
Do you come
back often?
Easter 2003 will be the
fourth time!
Do Sardinian
rocks have something special?
They are the most beautiful
and varied in Europe!
What if there
wasn’t the sea in Sardinia?
You would have to invent it! For the
landscape, because the water is always
cold and it dampens the rocks.
Would you
like to live on the island?
I would miss the height, the mountains…
Which place
impressed you the most?
The enormous stalactites in the “Grotta
dei Nasi lunghi” at San Nicolò
(where Michel opened several spectacular
routes, editor's note)
Is there
a route which is worth a trip to Sardinia
alone?
I would say mainly a wall, Punta Giradili!
And a route
that you would like to repeat?
I would like to go at the Gorroppu
Gorges, but the routes are too hard!
Where wouldn’t
you return?
I would prefer to come
back every year, if I could!
What would
you do if you lived on the island?
I would open, open, open
new routes!
Too many
routes damage or increase the value
of a place?
If routes have a “soul”
and they respect the ones opened previously,
I would say there are no problems.
Do you think
that there is enough space for everybody
on Sardinian rocks?
The island is very large,
you only need to walk a bit and you
are completely alone.
And how long
will this last?
For a long time…
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