FEDERICA MINGOLLA

Born:8/11/94 ITALY

"The human being lives in the city, eats without hunger and
drinks without thirst, gets tired without the body struggling,
chasing its own time without ever reaching it.
He is an imprisoned being, a prison without borders from
which it is almost impossible to escape.
But some human beings sometimes need to recover their lives,
to find a high road again. Not everyone tries, few succeed."

Walter Bonatti

Bio

Federica Mingolla was born in Turin in 1994. She entered in the vertical history a few years ago for being the first italian woman to free climbed Tom et Je Ris in Verdon, Digital Crack on the Mont Blanc’s massif and in one push the "Via Attraverso il Pesce" in Marmolada. In addition to mountaineering and federal of FASI, she got a degree in Physical education in Turin at SUISM. Federica, 56 kilos and 1.68, a bundle of muscles and strenght shoulders, is today as one of the most interesting italian woman in the Rock Climbing and European Alpinism scene. Her passion for climbing borned at the age of 14 in the indoor gym. She began a National Athlete from 2000 to 2014. In 2013 she placed second at the Lead Italian Championship. She also qualified for the World Competition but the growing passion for the outdoor pushed her to moving away from competitions’ world. In 2014 she discovered rock climbing and a new irresistible passion was borned: in just two years she improved quickly till the 8b+. It was a big change, thanks to Adriano Trombetta, his mentor and member of the Turin’s Mountain Guide, recently dead in a tragic mountain accident. “The rock for me has been a revelation: like discover how to climb for the first time”. Definitely out from the competition world, Federica has found her way. Her specialty is TRAD climb: “The type of climbing that most fascinates me is the most mentally and dangerous. It calls TRAD climbing or traditional climbing and it is that one you can usually find in big wall and practiced by the first wall climbers long time ago. You must be focused and synchronized because the protections are often far away and precarious”. As well as practing different styles of climbing she began to pursue her dream to become an Alpine guide. For this reason she is training also on skiing and she attends the Alpine Guide courses in Italy. She works hard not in search of the “grade” on freeclimbing, but for increase her experience and knowledge on mountaineering.

In recent years she completed many high level projects:
- first ascent of "Addio al Celibato" 8a+ multipitch with Matteo della Bordella,
- first ascent of "Monster" multipitch 8a with Matteo Giglio,
- first ascent of “L'isola che non c'è" 7b+ multipitch with Gabriele Carrara,
- first women ascent of “Itaca nel sole" multipitch 8b
- first ascent of "KTM" 8a+

Interview

1) Who is your favorite climbing partner and why?
I am lucky because I trust in many people as partner. The important point is that they have to be motivated and to share positive vibes.
2) Which is the first La Sportiva shoes/boot you used?
Skwama
3) What is your favorite climbing/mountaineering book?
"I Falliti" by Gian Piero Motti.”
4) What is the mountain you would like to see at least one time in your life?
Fitz Roy
5) What's in the air?
Train to become Alpine Guide and at the same time, follow my dreams on rocks.

Highlights

2013 Second place in the Italian Lead Championship
2014 Leave the climbing competitions
2014 First Italian female ascent of "Tom et Je Ris" in Verdon 8b+
2016 Love of big walls has started. First Female Ascent 1 push of "Via Attraverso il Pesce" in Marmolada 7+ A2 (7b+) 900m.
2017 First high difficulty on big walls. First italian female ascent of "La Cattedrale" in Marmolada (8a+ max 800m).
2018 The dream come true. First female ascent of "Itaca nel Sole" at Caporal in Valle dell’Orco (8b max 180 m)

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