Guido Rey

As the dates of his earthly existence testify, he was a man 'from another era', even in his relationship with the mountains. Born into an illustrious and wealthy family (he was the grandson of Quintino Sella), he had his grandfather as his first initiator into the mountains: he was the one who, at the age of thirteen, introduced him to the Cervino from a high point in the Biellese Alps. 

His fame is mainly linked to his literary skills, although his list of achievements is respectable: the first ascents of the Ciamarella, the north Bessanese, the Punta Bianca on the Tiefenmatten ridge, the first Italian ascent of the Meije (with Alessandro Sella). He climbed the Matterhorn five times and Monviso as many times (two new routes). We must record, among other things, the first Italian and second absolute ascent of the north ridge of the Grivola, the south face of the Lyskamm, the Dent d'Hérens, to limit ourselves to the most important exploits. Having lost his brother in a mountain accident while proceeding without a guide, Guido Rey changed his attitude towards climbing and no longer ventured out unaccompanied by guides. His meeting with Ugo De Amicis led him to discover, starting in 1904, the Mont Blanc massif, which until then Rey had considered the terrain of the English 'masters'. From this period we can list his successes on the Grépon, Chamoz, Requin, Dru and Aiguille Verte. From one discovery to the next, he moved on to the Dolomites: the Catinaccio, the Vajolet Towers, the south face of the Marmolada (for a long time he was credited with the first, but in reality it was only his famous description), the Tofana di Roces, the Antelao (1913). He obtained the material for his book 'Acrobatic Mountaineering' (1914). In love with the Matterhorn, he climbed it several times along various routes, but his obsession was the unclimbed Furggen ridge. After several unsuccessful attempts, he succeeded in climbing it with a rope ladder lowered from above (1899). His love for this special mountain led him to have a villa built on the Breuil, which still exists today. Given his romantic feeling towards mountaineering, we can say that he died in time: before Breuil became Cervinia!