Born in Lavis in 1926, but soon moved to Cles, in Val di Non, Carlo Claus achieved important ascents in the Dolomites, Patagonia and the Himalayas, alongside sacred monsters such as the aforementioned Cesare Maestri and Marino Stenico. A great interpreter of the artificial era, he opened historic routes with Maestri, among which we remember the one on the South-East face of Castelletto dei Massodi in 1962, the one on the North face of Campanil Basso in 1965 and the one at Cima della Farfalla in 1967, all among the beloved home mountains: the Brenta Group.
In 1970 he was instead the protagonist, together with Ezio Alimonta, Pietro Vidi, Daniele Angeli and Claudio Baldessari, of the climb of Cerro Torre along the South-East face, with which Cesare Maestri opened the famous Compressor route. In the latter part of his career, Claus also participated in expeditions to Annapurna, Makalu and Nanga Parbat.
“An extraordinary mountaineering life, that of Carlo Claus – concludes president Mauro Leveghi – which the Trento Film Festival honors with this lifetime achievement award, which, together with the one awarded in 2019 to Cesare Maestri, wants to express gratitude for having done so that the climbs carried out by two people who loved the mountains have become everyone’s heritage”.
