Riccardo Cassin

Riccardo Cassin (2 January 1909 – 6 August 2009) was an Italian mountaineer, developer of mountaineering equipment and author. Born at San Vito al Tagliamento, Friuli, Cassin was one of the leading mountaineers of the inter-war period; in all, Cassin made a total of 2,500 ascents, of which over 100 were first ascents. In 1940 he married Irma, with whom he had three sons – Valentino, Pierantonio and Guido. Cassin started mountaineering around 1930... more

Riccardo Cassin (2 January 1909 – 6 August 2009) was an Italian mountaineer, developer of mountaineering equipment and author. Born at San Vito al Tagliamento, Friuli, Cassin was one of the leading mountaineers of the inter-war period; in all, Cassin made a total of 2,500 ascents, of which over 100 were first ascents. In 1940 he married Irma, with whom he had three sons – Valentino, Pierantonio and Guido. Cassin started mountaineering around 1930 together with a group known as the Ragni di Lecco (spiders of Lecco). In 1934, he made the first ascent of the Piccolissima of the Tre Cime di Lavaredo. In 1935, after having repeated Emilio Comici's route on the north-west face of the Civetta, he climbed the south-eastern ridge of the Trieste Tower and, with Vittorio Ratti, made a new route of the north face of Cima Ovest di Lavaredo. In 1937, Cassin made his first climb on the granite of the Western Alps. Over the course of three days, 14–16 July, he made the first ascent of the north-east... less