Leonardo Follis

On Wednesday, 14 March 2001, fate snatched from the world of sport, as well as from all his personal affections, the life of Leonardo Follis, a world-class ski mountaineer, but above all a serious, modest and helpful athlete, as friends and adversaries liked to remember him.

A native of Gressoney in the Aosta Valley, he was 33 years old. He had grown up with a passion for cross-country skiing, which he practised as a child in the ranks of the Gressoney Monte Rosa Ski Club. He then moved on to the regional competitive teams (Asiva), before joining the Army Sports Centre in 1986. From here to the so-called 'national team tour' was a one-off: in fact, in 1987 he won a 15th place at the junior world championships in Asiago. After joining the sports group of the Forestry Corps, Leonardo Follis moved on to ski mountaineering on the one hand, and to cross-country races on the other: he finished second at the Marcialonga and won the Monterosalauf 2000. In the field of ski mountaineering, the one where he knew how to express himself best, his palmares is extraordinarily rich: winner of the 1999 Mezzalama Trophy and of all the classics of the speciality dedicated to as many prominent figures of the mountain world: the Rolando, Parravicini, Bozzetti, Fiou, Fillietroz and Welf trophies. As has sometimes happened to some of the best mountaineers, the fatal misfortune occurred in what appear to be mocking circumstances. Having gone out for a training session on the snow at home, he climbed the Weissmatten and from there continued on to the Ranzola pass, but an avalanche with a 150-metre front swept him down a route he knew perfectly well.

.