Michele Pontraldolfo
He was born in Pordenone on November 8th 1971.
He starts to frequent the mountainside at the age of 12. At only nineteen he volunteers for the Italian Army and within five years he becomes Commander of the Ponti Radio Squad. He was involved in numerous national and inter-service exercises. In 1994 he qualifies for military airdrop (American parachute T10). He then achieves the international certificate for sporting parachuting. He has done more than 200 free-fall jumps, practicing “free-style and free-fly”. In the Airport of Salgareda he parachutes from 5,400 meters setting up his own record.
In the Spring of 1997 he gets the 1st level patent at the Speleological School in Pordenone and starts to explore numerous caves both in Friuli and in the nearby Veneto. At the same time he starts to frequent the mountainside as an alpine climber and together with other companions rock-climbs the majority of the Dolomites. Ski-tourism, rock-climbing, ice-fall and high altitude climbing are the disciplines that Pontrandolfo practices with enthusiasm and full awareness of his abilities.
In 1998 decides to climb solo the Northern side of the Marmolada, an ice-path of 200 meters with a 60% gradient. He starts to understand that his real passion is alpine ice.
He climbs his first high mountain slopes from Mount Bianco to the Tauri Mountains in Austria.
In 1998 he decides to organize his first ski-tourism expedition in Greenland and, two years later, together with three companions, he tries to cross it from East to the West for 600 Km. He reaches his goal in 32 days as arranged.
For now he has successfully finished 6 expeditions:
GREENLAND 2000
ISLAND 2003
GEOGRAPHICAL NORTH POLE 2004
ISLAND SOLO 2005
OVER ICE 2006
SVALBARD 2007
GEOGRAPHICAL NORTH POLE 2008 (attempt)
In 2008 he publishes, together with Andrea Valente, “STELLA in capo al mondo” (Stella in the middle of nowhere)
See the movie
