Latest news with #MarcoConfortola
Daily Mail
9 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Top Italian mountaineer is accused of faking selfies from summits to inflate the number of peaks he has scaled
One of Italy 's most celebrated climbers has been accused of faking his place among the world's mountaineering elite by using stolen pictures and photoshopped images to bolster his record. Marco Confortola, 54, proudly declared last month that he had conquered all 14 of the world's peaks higher than 8,000metres - including Everest - an achievement claimed by only around 50 climbers worldwide. The feat was all the more extraordinary because Confortola lost all of his toes to frostbite during a deadly 2008 storm on K2. But fellow Italian mountaineer Simone Moro has accused him of fraud, alleging that Confortola never actually reached six of the summits he claims - among them Kangchenjunga and Annapurna. Moro, 56, claims Confortola used a photo of Kangchenjunga taken by a Pakistani climber, cropped him out, and inserted himself into a summit show on Lhotse, originally taken by Spanish alpinist Jorge Egocheaga. 'Confortola added a bit of snow blowing in wind, but the shade on the mountain is identical,' Moro told The Times. The row erupted after veteran climber Silvio Mondinelli questioned Confortola's 2010 ascent of Annapurna, insisting he stopped short of the summit. Moro said sherpas who accompanied Confortola on Kangchenjunga had also claimed he never reached the top. 'Confortola has also admitted in the past that he did not make it to the summit of Nanga Parbat,' Moro told the newspaper. The Italian climber, who has written five books and gives motivational speeches to corporations, hit back this week, denying the allegations and claiming that they were driven by jealousy. 'It is because I am 'simpatico'. I speak about my exploits to companies,' he told La Stampa. 'Who does Simone Moro think he is?' he said, adding: 'My mistake was not dying on K2 in 2008 - that way these stars would have been happy.' He also insisted to mountaineering magazine Lo Scarpone that he took his own summit photo on Lhotse and said Mondinelli had once backed his Annapurna claim. Moro, who has not climbed all 14 giants but made history by completing four first winter ascents, shot back: 'Confortola is making it personal because he lacks proof to back up his claims. 'Even Reinhold Messner has said he is a joke'. Messner, 80, the legendary Italian who first climbed all 14 peaks in 1986, weighed in to say Confortola was damaging Italy's hard-won reputation in the climbing world. 'More Italians have climbed the 14 than any other nation but Confortola is hurting Italy's reputation and reinforcing the worst stereotypes about Italians,' Moro said. And he claimed that ticking off the big Himalayan peaks is not what it once was, accusing agencies who offer them as packages with sherpas or helicopters turn the experience into a holiday novelty.
Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- Times
Italian mountaineer accused of faking summit selfies
One of Italy's best known mountaineers has been accused of using stolen pictures and photoshopped images to fake the number of summits he has scaled. Marco Confortola, 54, announced last month that he had climbed all 14 peaks of more than 8,000 metres in the Himalaya and Karakoram ranges — including Everest — joining an exclusive club of about 50 mountaineers who have managed the feat. Confortola's achievement was doubly impressive since all his toes were amputated after his feet froze during a storm in 2008 on K2, the world's second highest peak. But he was quickly challenged by Simone Moro, another Italian mountaineer, who alleged that Confortola had failed to make the summit of six of the peaks, including Kangchenjunga in the Himalayas. Moro claimed that Confortola had used a photo of the peak taken by a Pakistani climber, whom Confortola allegedly cropped out. Moro also claimed that Confortola had photoshopped himself into a picture taken at the peak of Lhotse by the Spanish climber Jorge Egocheaga, after removing Egocheaga from the image. 'Confortola added a bit of snow blowing in wind, but the shade on the mountain is identical,' Moro told The Times. Moro said the first climber to accuse Confortola was Silvio Mondinelli, who alleged that Confortola's ascent of Annapurna in Nepal stopped short of the peak. 'It seemed to be a row between those two, but then other climbers asked me to look into it because of my reputation,' said Moro, who has not climbed all 14 peaks but was the first to scale four of them in winter. Moro said he had already been told by sherpas who climbed Kangchenjunga with Confortola that he had not made it. 'Confortola has also admitted in the past that he did not make it to the summit of Nanga Parbat,' Moro claimed. • Mountaineers piqued by claim they fell short of highest summits In interviews this week, Confortola denied the allegations and claimed peers such as Moro were driven by jealousy. 'It is because I am 'simpatico'. I speak about my exploits to companies who call me to give motivational speeches and I have written five books,' he told La Stampa. He also told the mountaineering publication Lo Scarpone that he had taken the photo at the top of Lhotse, and claimed that Mondinelli had previously backed his claim that he made it to the top of Annapurna. 'Who does Simone Moro think he is?' he said, adding: 'My mistake was not dying on K2 in 2008 — that way these stars would have been happy.' Moro responded: 'Confortola is making it personal because he lacks proof to back up his claims. Even Reinhold Messner has said he is a joke.' Messner, the legendary Italian climber, now 80, was the first to climb all 14 peaks in 1986. 'More Italians have climbed the 14 than any other nation but Confortola is hurting Italy's reputation and reinforcing the worst stereotypes about Italians,' Moro claimed. Moro added that claiming to conquer the peaks was increasingly less impressive. 'These days there are agencies who offer them as a package, laying on sherpas and helicopters,' he said. 'It is becoming like a safari or cruise holiday.'
