The simple life and extraordinary achievements of Oreste and Arturo Squinobal, carpenters and mountain guides, as well as climbers who rose to fame between the 1970s and 80s thanks to their incredible feats in the Alps and Himalayas.

With an afterword by Paolo Cognetti.

Full English translation available

Amid family anecdotes and stories about expeditions to their beloved Aosta Valley, in North-West Italy, preparations are underway for their greatest adventure: the ascent to Kangchenjunga, the third tallest mountain on earth (8,586 metres), on the border between Nepal and the Indian state of Sikkim. Oreste succeeded in 1982, without an oxygen cylinder.
But Kangchenjunga gives the Squinobal brothers an opportunity to rethink their roots, the Walser culture of the Gressoney valley where they grew up, and in particular everything they have in common with the Sherpa people and the Nepalese.
A thought-provoking and, above all, exciting story at a time when expeditions to the most famous summits of the world are nothing more than a lucrative business, and, pushed by advertising and profit, often turn into tragedies.

pp.240