Pioneers

Pionieri now on Amazon Prime Video in Italy, the UK, France and the US

Peter Moser's great journey through the Pale di San Martino, a legend of mountaineering.

The day of August 10, 2021, began very early for Peter Moser. It was late at night when he set off from San Martino di Castrozza; with a headlamp on his head, he climbed towards the Bolver-Lugli via ferrata, and before sunset, he reached the summit of Piz de Sagron, which he had reached after climbing Cimon della Pala, Pala di San Martino, Cima Canali, Sass Maor, and Sass d'Ortiga. All in one go.

Pionieri is the AKU film that brings modern mountaineering into dialogue with its origins

Inspired by the pioneers (ita. pionieri, -Ed) of mountaineering, Peter linked six of the main peaks of the Pale di San Martino in a single day, following the historic routes of the first climbers. An equal confrontation with the mountain, fast but unhurried, an intimate journey that Peter embarked on to reach the roots of mountaineering and his own experience as a mountaineer and mountain guide, where exploration and the wonder of nature are still possible. It's the same desire for exploration that drove the first English climbers to ascend the Pale di San Martino, accompanied by hunters and mountaineers from Primiero, whom the film evokes through one of the most legendary climbing teams in mountaineering history. Mariano Lott and Antonio Zagonel, both mountain guides with the Aquile di San Martino e Primiero, play two historic guides, Michele Bettega and Bortolo Zagonel, while English client Beatrice Thomasson is played with elegance and British aplomb by Petra Lott.

Peter Moser

Ambassador AKU, montanaro, guida alpina e atleta della montagna.

Pionieri

A FILM BY ALESSANDRO BELTRAME; SCREENPLAY BY ROBERTA ORSENIGO; CONCEPT AND STORY BY TEDDY SOPPELSA.

With the participation of:
Peter Moser, Maurizio Zanolla “Manolo”, Luciano Gadenz, Mariano Lott (Michele Bettega), Antonio Zagonel “Cobra” (Bortolo Zagonel), Petra Lott (Beatrice Thomasson), Mara Iagher (manager of the Treviso Refuge).

3D graphics by Diego Boffelli; Photography by Alessandro Beltrame; Production assistants: Simone Caviglia, Ada De Matteo; Mountain logistics: Flavio Beber, Fabrizio Dellai “Bicio”; Production: AGB Studio Video – agbvideo.com.

Thanks to:
Carla Scalet, Maurizio Toffol, Manuel Corso, Jenni Zagonel, Roberta Secco
Duilio Boninsegna, Pierina Boni, Laura Meneghini, Tullio Simoni, Piero Casagrande, Elisa Bettega, Iwan Canins, Deborah Zampedri, Silvano Doff Sotta, Maurizio Salvadori, Gianpaolo Zortea “Zorro”.

Special thanks to:
Alpine Guides Group of the Eagles of San Martino and Primiero.

An AKU project in collaboration with:
APT San Martino di Castrozza-Rolle Pass-Primiero and Vanoi;
Vibram.

From John Ball to Peter Moser

Shortly after the mid-19th century, when the first English travelers saw the Pale di San Martino, they were struck by the beauty of this Dolomite mountain range, many of whose peaks remained unclimbed. From that moment, the race to conquer them began. The first to be reached, in 1870, was Cimon della Pala (3,184 m), described by John Ball as the "Matterhorn of the Dolomites." Soon after, it was the turn of Sass Maor, Pala di San Martino, and Cima Canali, and before the century of great revolutions ended, all the main peaks of the Pale had been reached. Those aristocratic mountaineers to the summits were guided by farmers and hunters from Primiero who, despite their differing interests, formed legendary climbing teams that shaped mountaineering history.

I went to the roots of mountaineering

“I could have climbed the most challenging routes, but I preferred to take a step back. I wanted to strip everything from my mountaineering and put the mountain at the center. It wasn't just a pursuit of performance; in fact, that was the last of my goals. It was also a search for my roots, as a guide and as a mountaineer. I went to the roots of mountaineering, and I find that beautiful and important. I did it quickly, but without haste, without a stopwatch. My goal was to experience the adventure, not measure time. The legendary pioneers took 20 years to climb these peaks; for me, thanks to their work and their genius, it took just one day.” –Peter Moser

ROCK II DFS GTX

Technical approach and light climbing shoe, for via ferratas and mountain trail hikes.

PETER'S PEAKS

On August 10, 2021, Peter Moser set off at night from San Martino di Castrozza and reached the following peaks before sunset:

Cimon della Pala(3184 m) via the normal south-east route (first ascent: in 1870 by Edward Robson Whitwell, Christian Lauener with the guide Santo Siorpaes);
Altarpiece of San Martino(2982 m) via the normal north-west route (first ascent: in 1878 by Julius Meurer, Alfredo Pallavicini, with the guides Michele Bettega, Arcangelo Dimai and Santo Siorpaes);
Cima Canali(2900 m) along the north-west edge with the crossing of the ridges (first ascent: in 1879 by Charles Comyns Tucker with the guide Michele Bettega);
Sass Maor(2812 m) via the normal south-east route (first ascent: in 1875 by Henry Awdry Beachcroft, Charles Comyns Tucker, with the guides Francois Devoassoud and Giovanni Battista Della Santa);
Sass d'Ortiga(2631 m) via the west edge (first ascent: in 1892 by Demeter Diamantidi and Peter Kotter with Giuseppe Zecchini);
Piz de Sagrón(2486 m) for the northern and southern sides (first ascent: in 1877 by Cesare Tomè, Tommaso Da Col and the guide Mariano Bernardin “Gabiàn”).

From the Trento Film Festival to numerous awards

Pionieri was chosen along with over 130 films selected at the 71st edition of the Trento Film Festival.

From the Deutscher Alpenverein Award for Best Mountain Film at the Tegernsee International Mountain Film Festival to the Jury Prize at the Poprad Mountain Film Festival in Slovakia, which chose it from 56 competing films from 15 countries, to date Pionieri has collected over 20 laurels at as many international festivals, where audiences have been able to admire the spectacular images of Peter Moser and the Pale di San Martino.

The Footwear of the Crossing

Peter Moser's traveling companions on this great journey through the Pale di San Martino were the AKU Rock DFS GTX.

A technical approach and lightweight climbing shoe, which Peter Moser helped design, ideal for moving quickly on trails and extremely precise and comfortable during all climbing sections.

The AKU Rock DFS GTX is lightweight, comfortable, and practical, yet offers the rigidity needed for climbing, thanks to the Climbing Zone toe cap. The double lacing system makes the Rock DFS GTX fit snugly around the foot and therefore more precise, even on small holds.

Sulle orme di Peter Moser

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