GIOVANNI RESTELLI
Cuggiono, Milan-Italy, Sept. 16th 1977
Joe.res@libero.it

PREFACE
Paolo and I met one day back in summer  1995 in a chance context. Since we’ve known each other, we’ve so far collected together more than 25 hikes to the highest summits in the western Alps, ranging from F to TD+ difficulty degree, from French to Swiss and Italian peaks. Besides all the fourthousanders I drew up in the crhonology here below, over the years me and Paolo also had several hikes along rocky walls as well as ice falls in some of the best locations in Piedmont, Aosta Valley and southern Switzerland, not to mention some awsome off-piste and ski-alpinistic experiences in Monte Rosa.

One of the few things I take for granted in my life is that, if I had never met Paolo back in that summer, I’d not take any step beyond conventional low-height mountain paths, with an entire new dimension outside and inside myself forever hidden to my eyes and feelings.

My best  hike ever with Paolo? Still difficult to say after 15 years in climbing together... I do believe every mountain is almost like a person, with a wide variety of different facets yet a unique, distinctive core; both things making any single peak, and its related hike, different from all the others . I wish everybody interested in having Paolo as guide to experience all the never-fading emotions I had in my 15 years of climbing with him: an instructor, an educator...a friend.

MAIN ACHIEVEMENTS
1st hike: August 1995 BALMENHORN (4167m., main route) & SIGNALKUPPE (4556m., main route)
1996, August: Trekking ‘THE LYS VALLEY’ through ‘NOSE OF LYS’ PASS (4100m.)
                         GROBER PEAK (3497m., main route)
                       PARROT PEAK (4436m., main route)
1997, July: LYSKAMM (4527m., western-to-eastern summit traverse)
                     VINCENT PYRAMID (4215m., main route)
                     SCHWARZHORN (4322m., southwest side)
1998, July: DUFOURSPITZE (4633m., ‘cresta Rey’ straight-to-summit route)
                    ZUMSTEIN PEAK (4563m., main route)
            August: DOM (4545m., ‘Festigrat’ northwest ridge)
1999, July: OBERGABELHORN (4063m., east ridge through WELLENKUPPE)
2000, August: LUDWIGSHOHE (4341m., main route)
                          LYSKAMM (4527m., ‘Klucker’ straight-to-summit route along north face)
                          MATTERHORN (4477m., ‘cresta del leone’ southwest ridge)
2001, May: GRAN PARADISO (4061m., main route)
            August: DENT D’HERENS (4171m., ‘Tiefenmatten’ west ridge)
2002, June: TAGLIAFERRO (2964m., north ridge)
2003, July: FINSTERAARHORN (4273m., Grimsel-Oberaarjoch-Gemseljoch traverse & southeast ridge)
           August: DENT DU GEANT (4013m., north edge)
2004, July: MONT MAUDIT (4465m., ‘Kuffner’ south ridge)
                    SIGNALKUPPE (4456m.,  ‘Signal’ east ridge)
            August: GIORDANI PEAK (4046 m., main route)
2005, June: LENZSPITZE (4294m., northeast face straight-to-summit route)
                      NADELHORN (4327m., ‘Nadelgrat’ sotheast-to-northwest traverse)
            August: AGUILLE DU MIDI (3842m., ‘Frendo’ north spur)
2007, July: ALLALINHORN (4027m., main route)
            August: WEISSHORN (4505m., east ridge)
2008, July: WEISSMIES (4023m., main route)
2009, July: GRANDES JORASSES (4208m., main route to Walker Peak)
           August: NORDEND (4609m., ‘Santa Caterina’ northeast ridge)