Walls can be high, thick, and seemingly insurmountable. They separate us from what we long for.
They can’t be bypassed, let alone walked through, but with a bit of courage, they can be fought. You have to dare, push yourself further, and face the limit without giving up. In the end, besides defeating our inner walls, we will have also surpassed ourselves. The goal of Luca Montanari, mountain guide and mental coach, is to help people do just that. As a mountain guide, he helps his athletes reach their goals—not just on a physical level. As a qualified mental coach, he works on the front line with the people behind the faces of sportspeople, competitive athletes, and professionals. And since 2019, he has also been supporting the Italian National Paraclimbing team. Luca tells us about his life and how his passion for the mountains and climbing was born.
Ever since he was a child, his father took him skiing and on long walks in the woods. It is to him that he owes this bond with the mountains; to that dad he lost too soon. It was pain and fear that brought him closer to the rock face. Between the holds, he found something to cling to and something that made him grow. Climb after climb, he gained confidence, gained height, and surpassed himself. From then on, the path to follow was clear for him: the mountains, his “true teachers of life.” At 14, accompanied by a mountain guide, he climbed the Dolomites for the first time and was fascinated. An encounter that was a revelation: the desire to become a mountain guide was born there. Over the years, he continued to gather experience in the mountains—with skis, on rock, on ice—and joined the Alpine Rescue.
In his early twenties, he felt ready for the entrance exam for mountain guide training. But, just a few days before the exam, he fell from a wall and broke his foot. In that precise moment, his confidence in his abilities also cracked. When your body pushes you upwards, but your mind brings you back to the ground, the outcome is inevitable. He realized that to break down that wall, simple training wasn’t enough. It was then that he began to reflect on himself, to investigate his inner world, and to face his fears. He tried to find the strength within himself to rebuild the lost confidence and courage. And he succeeded. He passed the selection and began the training that led him to become a mountain guide in 2008. A fundamental experience. He learned that the most important thing is to understand yourself, listen to your body, trust it, and identify your “why.” It was during expeditions that he found confirmation of these beliefs: “After acclimatization, the body is exhausted. In fact, it’s at its limit. You need something different to make the impossible possible.” In this way, Luca became increasingly interested in mental processes and how they interact with human performance. He studied and became a mental coach. Then he began to share his experience and knowledge with athletes.
In 2019, he started working as a mental coach for the Italian National Paraclimbing team. “A challenge within a challenge,” as he defines it himself. In addition to neurocognitive exercises, he includes the most important aspect of his work: time. Time to listen, to discuss, for shared mindfulness sessions. Because, as he points out: “If we want to improve an athlete’s performance, we must first of all strengthen the person.” He states that working with para-athletes is always a great source of inspiration. What is already demanding in itself involves immense individual challenges for some of them. He explains that reaching the goal doesn’t necessarily mean getting to the top; rather, it’s equivalent to developing a certain inner attitude: feeling joy in climbing and a deep trust in one’s own strength. This is the true victory.
When asked where he finds the motivation, past the age of 40, to continue training, he tells us the story of how he accompanied his trusted friend and multi-amputee mountaineer Andrea Lanfri to the summit of Mount Everest. Many around him said it was too dangerous, that he wouldn’t make it, and that he would endanger both his own life and Andrea’s. But Luca wanted to help his friend fulfill this wish and overcome his limits, at any cost. Helping people surpass themselves and reach their goals: this is what drives Luca. This is his “why,” his reason for living. And it is also the reason why he continues to improve himself.
“When I wake up in the morning and feel tired and stressed by various daily commitments, I think of the athletes I support. Of the paraplegic climber who, despite being in a wheelchair, tenaciously tackles his first pitches. And I think of Nadia, the visually impaired climber who, together with her climbing partner Sonia, reaches new heights. Their determination reminds me how far you can go if you just start and put yourself to the test.”
We all clash daily with our walls—whether they are a presentation, a race, or a 7a. We can decide to remain helpless, let ourselves be discouraged by the superiority of the wall. Or we can change our attitude, look fear in the eye, and face it. Just like in climbing, one pitch after another. Focusing on the here and now. Without doubts and without hesitation, simply acting and letting ourselves be carried by self-confidence.
It is precisely in this moment that we grow, that we manage to become the best version of ourselves. And the walls get lower and become more manageable. Until, at a certain point, we have left them behind us.