A fierce controversy has erupted in Himalayan mountaineering circles. Simone Moro, one of Italy’s most renowned climbers globally (having summited four 8,000-meter peaks in winter), has launched a public attack against fellow elite climber Marco Confortola. Moro directly contests Confortola’s claimed ascents of several major peaks.
In an online interview with ‘Lo scarpone’, the Italian Alpine Club’s portal, Moro stated: “This isn’t a campaign against Confortola, but one for truth and the obligations of an alpinist. If you go into schools, if you want to be an instructor, it means you must be a symbol of honesty, civic sense, and values. Among those values are truth and the ability to prove your truth.”
Moro added, citing his extensive experience: “I’ve been to Nepal 121 times. For nearly 35 years, I’ve been going there, and I can say nothing moves in that climbing world without many people knowing – myself included. Hiding something today is impossible. I’ve collected and shown multiple accounts from different people stating clearly in writing that Confortola did not summit these peaks. So we asked publicly: ‘Prove to us, please, that you climbed these summits. Show us the summit photos?’ The response revealed many summit photos weren’t his and were faked. This is confirmed without fear of contradiction, as the real photographers were shown them and graphic and photo experts analyzed them.” The disputed summits include Makalu, Kangchenjunga, Annapurna, Nanga Parbat, and Dhaulagiri.
Marco Confortola, born in 1971 in Valtellina, announced on July 20th that he reached the summit of Gasherbrum I, claiming completion of all 14 eight-thousanders. In 2009, he survived a notorious overnight bivouac on K2 after a serac collapse killed 11 climbers, resulting in amputations to his toes.
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