Ferrino ambassador Andrea Lanfri conquers Aconcagua twice
Last January 16, the mountaineer climbed South America’s highest peak for the first time, unfortunately without being able to take a photo of the feat. Not satisfied, he repeated the climb only six days later – on Jan. 22 – finally managing to record his presence next to the summit cross.
Longtime followers might have already crossed the name of Andrea Lanfri, a Tuscan mountaineer and Ferrino ambassador. A man with an incredible story: stricken by meningitis with meningococcal sepsis that took off both legs and seven fingers on his hands, he has not stopped from living his passions to the fullest and, above all, his life. A life of sports and mountains that led him to be the first athlete with multiple amputations to reach the summit of Everest.
Just eight years after the event that changed his life, on January 16 Andrea achieved yet another victory by reaching Aconcagua, South America’s highest peak, 6962 meters high. However, a hiccup prevented him from witnessing the feat: after reaching Camp 3 and setting off again toward the summit, contact with him was lost, and the navigator was stuck at 6745 meters for seven hours.
“I had carelessly put my navigator in the top pocket of my backpack and I must have lost it,” says the Tuscan mountaineer. “I went to the summit and it was shockingly cold, so cold that it caused some slight frostbite on my hands that did not allow me to take pictures.” Then, he continues, “The weather forecast for the next few days was still good, so I decided to go back up, this time to take photos as a sure testimony of the summit reached. I did not want there to be any doubt about this climb that was so beautiful and important to me.”
So on Saturday, Jan. 21, Lanfri set off again, reaching Camp 2 at about 5600 meters after covering 1200 meters of positive elevation gain during the day. “It took me 9 hours to cover those last 1600 meters of elevation gain and finally take photos next to the summit cross. From there down again, for another 5 hours to Camp 2, where I spent the night, returning to base camp the next day.”
With this summit, Lanfri is getting closer and closer to achieving his dream: the ascent of the Seven Summits, the highest peaks on the seven continents. At the moment, he counts Everest, Kilimanjaro and Acongagua to his palmares. “The next scheduled summit will be Elbrus, which I plan to climb with my girlfriend in the coming months,” Andrea reveals, “Then we’ll see. At the end of the year I would like to climb Puncak Jaya, then Vinson and Denali. The expedition to Puncak Jaya will probably be the most complex to organize logistically, but the biggest mountaineering challenge will be Denali.”
“As always,” he concludes, “I want to thank Ferrino for its support and the excellent materials it provided me with. The Air-Lite and Super-Lite mats and the Mystic sleeping bag proved invaluable in the low temperatures I faced. The XMT 60 backpack also did its job very well, especially in relieving the weight I was carrying on my back during the descent. The one I really have to give a 10+ rating to, however, is the Blizzard 2 tent, which was very light and quick to set up, even alone and in the windy conditions at the high camps. It stayed set up several days at Camp 2 without suffering any damage. Fantastic!”
