Born on 2 January 1909 in the province of Friuli in Italy, the climber died last Thursday in its 101st year. Orphan very young, Ricardo Cassin started work at the age of 13 years, first as a blacksmith, then construction and then as a mechanic. In parallel, the young Italian discovers the mountains and the passion was born. He soon became a big name for mountaineering. He opens his first route in 1931, and in 1935 the world start hearing about him, thanks to his climb in the north face of Cime Ouest du Lavaredo in the massif of the Dolomites. A face coveted by the biggest names in climbing world at the time and that had the reputation of being invincible. The Walker Spur (Grandes Jorasses) in 1938 But if Ricardo Cassin became one of the greatest climbers in the history of mountaineering is thanks to his climb on the North Face of the Grandes Jorasses, the Walker Spur, in August 1938. "The way to climb it's always the same, we go always straight, we take some pitons, the necessary gear, we plan the bivouacs... only the bad weather can interfere" he says. Afters the 2nd world war, Ricardo Cassin leaded several expeditions to Pakistan (K2, Gasherbrum IV and others). He also climbed the South Ridge on the Mount McKinley in 1961. And he will keep marking the mountaineering history. At the age of 66, he leaded an expedition to climb a first route in a face on the 4th highest mountain in the world, the Lhotse. At the age of 78, in 1987 he climbs a route on the Piz Badille... the same route he climbed 40 years earlier. He climbed over 2500 summits and open 100 new routes, a big name on the mountaineering history. MONT-BLANC: "Nuit de la glisse" in Chamonix After 70 days of filming the new "Nuit de La Glisse" is almost ready. The November 6th is the big day. 41 different countries. Kite surf in Portugal, surf in Hawaii and Australia, ski and snowboard in the Mont Blanc range, base jump at the Grandes Jorasses with Jean-Noël Itzstein. And these last few days in the center of Chamonix, it was Danny Mac Askill, specialist of the street bike, the star. With lots of videos on the web and more than 9 millions views in YouTube, he showed us the incredible stuff that he can do with his bike. "For Chamonix this a perfect marketing tool", says the director. Because on the November 6th, when this film (made in Chamonix Valley) will come out, it will make a lot of people dream about it and about Chamonix.
