Milan, 2000, 2nd edition. 126 pp, b/w photos, introduction by Bradford Washburn. No English translation. In Italian. Paperback. Fine.
A book on the first extreme climb on McKinley, the Cassin Ridge. A most important work in the history of McKinley. Cassin's 1961 ascent of the now-named Cassin Ridge was a major accomplishment on a new route. First published in 1965, this paperback edition includes a preface and a short history of Denali by Mirella Tenderini, and a chronology.
Riccardo Cassin was born in northern Italy in 1909. After being a blacksmith and a boxer, he discovered mountaineering. His legendary career has included about 2500 climbs - in Italy, Switzerland, France, Austria, Spain, Yugoslavia, Scotland, the Riccardo Cassin Caucasus, Alaska, Peru, Pakistan, Nepal, Japan and Patagonia. Over one hundred of these were first ascents, accomplished over a span of decades, from the southwest face of Lavaredo Piccolissima in 1934 to the south face of Mount McKinley in 1961 and the west face of Jirishanca in 1965.
At age 78, he repeated the northeast face of Badile Peak on the 50th anniversary of his first ascent. He has published 10 books on climbing and has been honored by numerous mountain organizations and governments. Reinhold Messner said of him: "He's a milestone in the history of climbing."
