Denis Trento, two-time world ski mountaineering champion and protagonist of the competitive scene, died on the Testa del Paramont, for reasons yet to be ascertained. His body was found at the base of a wall, crampons on his feet, in the presence of an avalanche. 41 years of age, athlete of the Courmayeur army sports center and Aosta Valley mountain guide, Trento leaves his wife and three children.
The family members raised the alarm about his failure to return, which was expected yesterday morning. Denis, who had gone out alone, may have fallen. The lifeless body was found at the base of the north face of the Testa del Paramont, in the mountains at home. The searches began in the early afternoon. The Valle d’Aosta mountain rescue team intervened in the area by helicopter and the crew doctor could not help but confirm the death. Trento was found by rescuers near an avalanche, even though he had not been submerged by it. He wore crampons on his feet. It remains to be established whether or not he was overwhelmed by the mass of snow. The avalanche danger in the area, according to the bulletin of the Valle d’Aosta Region, was 3-considerable above 2,600 meters above sea level and 2-moderate below. Denis had a profound knowledge of the area, mountains that he knew well beyond the usual indications.
In its palmarès, Trento boasted top placings in ski mountaineering competitions such as first place at the world team championships in 2008 and 2011 and the top step of the podium at the 2007 and 2009 European championships. He had also won practically all the great ski mountaineering classics such as the Pierra Menta, the Adamello Ski Raid, the Mezzalama Trophy and the Tour du Rutor. His passion for his discipline and for steep skiing had accompanied him well beyond the end of his competitive career and continued to be the guiding light of his life, together with his great love for his family.
Athlete gifted with natural speed which was among his greatest qualities, he had also managed to translate his skills into ski mountaineering unrelated to competitions. Many of his exploits, his new challenges: the Cresta di Rochefort with crossing of the Jorasses in 2016, the concatenation of the Bonatti and Aigle on the Petit Mont Blanc in 2018, the Cresta dell’Innominata. But also important descents such as the Couloir Sud Est of the Grand Capucin and the Couloir of the Quid Pluris on Mont Brouillard in 2021. Trento was capable of describing his sincere passion, sometimes extreme for the layman but never out of proportion for those who know it ski mountaineering – with short stories and posts on his social channels that also reached people outside of his circle, he knew his great human and professional value.
