Federica Mingolla joins the Salewa People team
Federica Mingolla has joined the Salewa team of athletes for the new climbing season. For those who don’t know her yet, Mingolla was born in Turin twenty-seven years ago and moved to Valle D’Aosta to follow her passion for the mountains. She has a degree in motor sciences, works as a mountain guide and FASI instructor, alternating teaching with the opening of new routes.
“Federica is not only an excellent climber,” says Thomas Aichner, Salewa marketing director, “but also a mountain guide, a mountaineer, a ski mountaineer and a paraglider pilot, a complete mountain woman. With Federica it was more natural to talk about the aesthetics of climbing as a form of vertical dance, and about the emotions of her experiences in the mountains, rather than about grades, records and first ascents. In this approach we discovered a great harmony with Salewa’s values and we are sure that Federica will be able to help us to transmit them to those who go to the mountains, she will be of great inspiration also regarding the theme of sustainability”.
To get to know Federica Mingolla better, the Salewa team asked her a few questions.
What is your personal interpretation of climbing?
For me climbing is not just a sport but a way of life. My daily routine is radically dependent on climbing. It has also led me to travel extensively to places I would never have visited otherwise. In short, climbing is a lifestyle because in some way it becomes your life and everything you do is a function of climbing some piece of rock, ice, snow channel. For me, climbing is more like a dance than an elaborate motor gesture, it’s something spontaneous that takes on many facets depending on who interprets it. Climbing simply makes me express myself 100% and I love that feeling.
Athlete, climber, mountaineer or mountain guide: which do you feel more of?
I like to step into the part of each of these roles depending on the situation and the time I’m living in. I’ve realized that I can’t just be one of these things because I wouldn’t feel complete. I like to train and live for my goals so I am an athlete. Climbing is undoubtedly the thing I love most to do and my favorite among the disciplines I practice but the mountain is a piece of me and its call is too strong. Being a mountain guide is a profession that I am developing together with my personal growth and the desire to get involved with other people who are entering this world. Sharing my passion with them is for me a source of great satisfaction and joy.
From your particular vantage point, what is your perception of the climate crisis and the issue of sustainability in general, and how do you interpret it in your life in the mountains?
Undoubtedly something is changing, it’s undeniable. I believe that the individual cannot make a difference on the impact we have on our planet, but if we all work together for a lower environmental impact, then we will see results little by little. In my small way I try to share these thoughts with those who follow me on social networks but I fear that the world has taken a wrong direction linked to something too big that we cannot control: economic interests. I will continue to do what I can hoping that this message will reach as many people as possible.
Last September you had a major injury to your heels, how is your recovery proceeding?
My feet are recovering just fine! I have a few more serious problems with my right foot (the one that was operated on, ed), but they will most likely be resolved only by removing the plates and screws that were put in. Overall I can do everything I want to do even if some movements hurt more than others. I am only 5 months post-op so I can’t complain at all!
Salewa is your new clothing and equipment sponsor: what affinities have you found with this brand that have motivated you to this partnership?
This new partnership has made me feel appreciated and given me new energy, it has made me realize that I can set big goals, I needed someone who believes in me. In the Salewa People I have found many athletes who are not focused on one activity, but do several, and I find myself very much in this attitude. In some ways Salewa has been with me since the beginning of my activity. When my father took me to the mountains as a child, I remember well the logo with the name on my backpack and on the canopy. And my first small clothing sponsor when I started racing was Salewa. Now our paths are reuniting, and I think it’s happening at the right time for me. The material is of the highest quality, especially the new hemp textile collection that is super breathable and dries quickly when you sweat, with sustainable, more environmentally friendly production – it’s another great fit with Salewa.
If you want to learn more about Salewa and its team of athletes, you can check out the website here
