Insubria and the Community: Honoris Causa Degrees

Walter Bonatti
Honorary Degree in Environmental Sciences
March 21st, 2005

Walter Bonatti (born in Bergamo - 1930) is an Italian born climber who set new standards in post-war Alpine climbing. Famed for his climbing panache, he pioneered little known and technically difficult climbs in the Alps, Himalaya and Patagonia. His notable climbs include a solo climb of a new route on the south-west pillar of Aiguille du Dru in August 1955.

Walter Bonatti was at the center of a climbing controversy regarding the first successful attempt of K2 by Lino Lacedelli and Achille Compagnoni in 1954, where as a 24-year old he helped ferry oxygen cylinders to the summiteers at Camp 9.
He was awarded the French Legion d'Honneur for saving the lives of two fellow-climbers in a disaster in the Alps.

Bonatti is the author of a number of books about climbing and mountaineering.

In the occasion of Insubria H.C. Degree, Professor Bonatti delivered the Lectio Magistralis address “La cultura della montagna ed i suoi valori”.