A cloudless sky, the sun shining strongly upon a mountain peak covered in snow, the rock showing unevenly through its slopes, hinting at the treacherous path one would take in order to reach the summit. A man is then revealed, drinking water from a bottle, before putting it away and continuing a trek along an upward path.
Patrizio has been Prince of Sartoria for a mere two years, but in that time he has earned a reputation for being a maverick, a daring adventurer who takes risks few would, either in defence of his people or for his own self-improvement. He is known for his yearly vacations to exotic locations, where he can spend some time surrounded by nature, away from the stately responsibilities of his office.
He was climbing Rotale, the third highest mountain in Sartoria and arguably the deadliest. Just three years before, it had claimed the life of seven climbers, when an avalanche buried four, and three died trapped in a crevasse. Yet here he was, climbing the near vertical Trevisan Face, the final obstacle before reaching the summit.
He looked down and waved at the rest of his team, two who were both brave and experienced enough to join him. One was Maurizio Cattaneo, his Press Secretary, and the other was Sebastiano Udinese, his Head of Security. All others were either at Base Camp or at the nearby village of Vittaca, waiting for their radio check-in from the summit.
Eventually, after a few tense minutes, he finished the climb and reached the summit, which at an altitude of 8473 metres, was well within the death zone. He took a deep breath through his mask, enjoying the astounding views of the Tepiblanch. Once his companions reached the summit, they celebrated, embracing each other and taking photos, and checked in with Base Camp, having become only the sixth team to summit Rotale in the past 25 years.
A helicopter landed on Base Camp, bringing supplies and eager climbers, while Patrizio read a report that had been waiting for him, as he finished his descent. As he had been told, the descent was an entirely separate struggle, and he finally understood why it was so often said that the real summit was the return to Base Camp.
He kept reading, glasses on, the report on his prospective schedule for the following month, and a series of legal questions the First Councillor had submitted for his consideration. He set the report aside, making a mental note to address the questions on his way back to Messelia, and laid back on his sleeping bag. He woke up a few hours later, even if to him it felt like minutes, when an aid entered his tent to say everyone was ready to begin the trek back to Vittaca.
Compared to climbing Rotale, the trek was a walk in the part, mostly horizontal, and when it was not, the inclination was a very slight downwards slope; certainly not something too difficult, even for those members of his staff without climbing experience. They had been walking for over half an hour, and a loud noise could be heard from behind, where Rotale was, and they picked up frantic chatter on their radios, which soon turned to what sounded like pure panic.
Soon the voices went silent, and as they heard Base Camp try to contact those who had been talking, Patrizio identified himself on the radio, asking what had happened. They said a team, who had reached the summit hours after him, was making its descent when an avalanche hit them. Two were trapped inside an ice cave, formed by the avalanche, while the other three were outside, able to move, but either too injured or too exhausted to make a successful descent.
Udinese quickly grabbed Patrizio by the arm, not aggressively, but firmly enough to imply that they should keep going and let the rescue service handle the matter. Patrizio had made up his mind, however, and told Base Camp to expect his return. Cattaneo was instructed to call the First Councillor and inform her that the Prince would stay in Ugovizza for a few more days, to handle an unexpected situation there.
Back at Base Camp, the local staff were astonished, having heard that the Prince would return to personally oversee the situation. They were to accidents in Rotale, that was the nature of the mountain, and most of the time these accidents were fatal. A half hour later, as the princely party arrived, the staff gathered to brief Patrizio on the situation.
He was told that rescue services had already been notified and were assessing the situation, though it looked bleak, and with at least one climber having died since the accident first happened, chances were that any rescue would arrive long after the other four climbers had already died. Patrizio found that unacceptable, and told as much to the Base Camp staff. He gave clear instructions to organise a rescue attempt as soon as possible, and said he wanted to be personally involved in its planning.
Patrizio was frustrated when the rescue services rejected any possible recue mission, either by helicopter or through climbing, citing the possibility of an incoming storm in the next few hours. He refused to concede, and stormed out of the tent, followed by Udinese.
Outside the tent, facing Rotale, Patrizio complained about the cowardice that dominated the rescue team, about their inability to act. Udinese tried to reason with him, reminding him that there was a reason the rescue services were in that position, and that they knew the mountain much better than he did. Patrizio conceded the argument, while saying that this was wrong, tantamount to murder by omission. Since they had, by then, lost the sun, they chose to spend another night at Base Camp, and resume their trek to Vittaca the next day.
Early the following morning, when the sun was yet to rise, Patrizio left his tent, and gently hit the tent where Udinese was sleeping, telling him it was time to go. Udinese asked him if he really wanted to move forward, to which Patrizio insisted that it was the only way to save those lives: once Base Camp noticed that they were making the ascent, they would have to provide support, perhaps even send a rescue team. They had a helicopter waiting, and soon they were flying to an altitude of 6500 metres, less than sixteen hundred metres from where the climbers were trapped.
At this point, some woke up and quickly figured out what was happening, desperately trying to contact the helicopter. It was to no avail, since the pilot had clear orders from the Prince not to turn back. At the rear, Patrizio and Udinese sat, their silence broken only when the latter asked if what they were doing as a good idea. Patrizio then uttered his now famous quote:
“Andiamo a salvare quattro vite; come potrebbe non essere una buona idea?”
Back in Base Camp, chaos was rampant. On one side, the local staff and rescue services were devising a strategy to provide some measure of support for the unauthorised rescue effort, and attempting to contact the trapped climbers, to let them know help was on the way. On the other side, the princely staff was struggling to reach the First Councillor, in order to let her be aware in case the unthinkable happened, and emergency protocols needed to be enacted.
By now the helicopter had reached its maximum possible altitude, and both Patrizio and Udinese had begun their ascent. They were soon confronted with the Voleratte Fall, a small but treacherous icefall, some 1200 metres below the approximate location of the accident. They heard a scream, what felt more like a desperate call for help, and they rushed, struggling to breathe, towards the general direction of the scream. They saw a climber, wearing a blue coat, running, if barely, from what looked to be a serac that had collapsed near her.
This was Melania Bianchi, one of the four remaining climbers. They caught her, tried to calm her, then asked her what had happened. She explained the events of the previous day. Shortly after the first climber died of internal injuries, she and another climber decided that it was too dangerous to stay; they decided to make a descent, even if it meant doing it at night. They parted ways with their trapped partner, and another who chose to stay behind, unwilling to leave their partner for such a risky descent.
It was hard to believe, but they managed to leave the death zone at night, but by then her partner had contracted pulmonary edema, and as the hours went by, he made a bad more, and fell through a crevasse. There was nothing she could do, and being exposed to the harsh conditions of such high altitude, was lucky to still be alive. They contacted Base Camp, letting them know that a second climber had died, and convinced Melania that, for the time being, they should climb upwards, to exit the Voleratte Fall, lest they fall suffer any accidents.
They reached Camp II and rested there for the night. Patrizio made sure to check Melania was in decent physical shape, given the circumstances, and gave her some food and medicine. Then all three climbers talked about their options. Patrizio suggested that Udinese stay behind with Melania, until a helicopter rescue could be arranged, but he refused, stating that his job was to protect the Prince of Sartoria, and their presence in a mountain, near the death zone, did not override that mandate. Though initially hesitant, Melania agreed to lead them to the site of the accident, to rescue the remaining two climbers.
Shortly before sunrise, the rescue team left Camp II and renewed their ascent, this time with a clear idea of where the lost climbers were. They climbed the relatively easy Pisani Face, before ascending through a near vertical wall of ice. They were 500 metres from the site of the accident, and had briefly managed to establish contact with the remaining trapped climber. He said he was well, though he would soon need to begin injecting himself with dexamethasone. They estimated that he should be in good conditions, albeit understandably weak, if they reached their destination before noon of the next day. There were no news of the climber who had opted to stay behind, as if she had vanished without leaving any traces.
They woke up to a deafening noise and a scream not unlike that which had led them to Melania. They all knew that noise, and as they struggled to leave their tents as quickly as possible, saw the incoming avalanche approaching. It was still dark, about an hour left until sunrise, and they made a run for what looked like a safe area, leaving many of their supplies at the camp. It was a close call, but Patrizio came in last, and was hit by a piece of ice, rendered unconscious as the avalanche came. Udinese rushed to his rise, fighting off the incoming ice, and dragged him to their refuge. A larger block hit him in the leg, right before they were safe, and as he tossed Patrizio towards Melania, he collapsed next to her.
Patrizio woke up to see Melania tending to Udinese, whose leg was apparently broken due to the avalanche. Distraught, he apologised to his friend, and contacted Base Camp to say they would need a rescue by the afternoon, giving their exact location. He then grabbed his gear, some supplies, and asking Melania to stay with Udinese, prepared himself to make the final ascent for the site of the accident, despite their objections about the dangers of that, and his importance as Prince of Sartoria. He would hear none of it, and left just as the sun began to rise.
He radioed Vincenzo, the remaining climber, to let him know that he was on his way, and would arrive shortly before noon. Vincenzo had just started injecting himself with dexamethasone, being dangerously close to running out of water. Patrizio told him to hold tight, use the injections the injections wisely, and try to contact Elena, the vanished climber, assuming his radio had enough battery left.
Patrizio then began the final push, climbing some rocky formations, near the Western Route, but not quite part of it. He started to feel dizzy, as he climbed, making a few missteps, almost falling through a crevasse; he was in the death zone now, and even if he had been there some days before, it was near impossible to adapt to it, least of all without supplemental oxygen. They had lost almost their entire supply in the avalanche, and the one bottle he had, he was keeping for Vincenzo, should be in a bad enough shape that he might need it. He pushed forwards and upwards, gathering all his strength, even as the blow to the head earlier that morning was making things even more difficult. It was harder than he could have imagined, each step heavier than the last, each breath less fulfilling than the last, the air lighter than it was at lower altitudes, but his head heavier then it usually was.
Here was the Prince of Sartoria, alone in the white desolation of a mountain, realising that he was all but dying at this point, and he realised he had two choices. He would push himself forward, do right by the climbers and save the remaining one, even if that meant risking his own life, or he could turn back and return with Udinese and Melania, save himself the effort of surviving in the death zone, lie and say he was unable to save Vincenzo. It was probably because of how disoriented he was that he simply pushed himself forward, choosing the default simply to avoid having to dedicate too much thought to anything other than staying alive. Thus he kept going, taking deep breaths, slowly distinguishing the collapsed serac that had entrapped Vincenzo.
Walking in that direction, it seemed like the cave was forever out of his reach. He kept walking, and it kept looking like it was still far away. If during his earlier climb, it had taken him some effort to take twenty steps, it required a titanic use of his energy to take even half. After what seemed like ages, he reached the cave, calling out for Vincenzo with what little strength he had left. He heard the climber respond, and they both used their axes to try and get an opening. It was incredibly irresponsible, dangerous even, but they were out of options. Both Patrizio and Vincenzo were well aware of the fact that, barring the use of explosives, which neither of them had, their axes were the best tool they had for the job.
Eventually they managed to make a small hole in the ice wall, and that small hole turned into a bigger one. Patrizio could soon distinguish Vincenzo, and soon enough the hole was big enough for the man to crawl out of the cave. Patrizio held him, asked if he was alright. Vincenzo was visibly weak, having spent more than two days in the death zone, and had clear signs of pulmonary edema, but he was alive, and while he had little strength left, he had enough to climb back down, with assistance.
Patrizio helped Vincenzo climb down, and they were halfway down to Camp III when the Prince thought he saw a figure moving, out the corner of his eye, or was it just his mind playing tricks, one of the effects from spending too much time in the death zone without any oxygen. He turned to the right, wondering if what he had seen was real, and there it was, another glimpse of a dark figure mixed with the white. He told Vincenzo to stay put, when moved towards the figure. It was quite a surprise when he discovered Elena Brivio, the fifth climber, barely conscious and partly covered in snow, but alive nonetheless.
With some help from Vincenzo, they tried to keep her conscious, administering some medicine, including dexamethasone, and continued their climb down. It was without a doubt a treacherous path, and while well below the death zone, it was still high enough that the odds were stacked against them: they were exhausted, carrying a climber unable to fend for herself, climbing down a slippery wall of ice. It was several hours until they reached Camp III, where, to their surprise, a rescue team was waiting for them, ready to descend. When the predicted storm changed its course, a rescue mission had been quickly approved, arguably because the Prince himself was assumed to be in mortal danger. The rescue team took Vincenzo and Elena for emergency treatment and to prepared them to descent, while Patrizio was quickly examined and asked to rest for a few minutes, as they prepared to leave.
Patrizio returns to Base Camp with three of the five climbers by his side, to the disbelief of everyone there. Word soon spreads that the Prince defied logic and nature to rescue three people, three Sartorians, despite the extreme circumstances in the death zone and the high risk that this supposed for his own life. Once Udinese and all three climbers are taken to Vittaca for more stable care, he is airlifted directly from Base Camp to Roccia, where he takes his plane back to Messelia.
Three months later, the Senate breaks tradition to bestow the Order of Maurizio on Patrizio, the first time a sitting Prince has been given an honour of any kind. He graciously accepts it, as the senators applaud, because granting bravery medals to Sebastiano Udinese, Melania Bianchi, Vincenzo Gionetti and Elena Brivio, all fully recovered from their ordeal, the latter two already planning to return to the mountain sometime soon.
Patrizio continued serving as Prince of Sartoria, sustaining extremely high approval levels throughout his term. He plans to visit Rotale after his retirement in 2018.
Sebastiano Udinese served as Head of Security to Prince Patrizio until 2007, when he retired from active duty. He lives with his wife in Porto Verale.
Melania Bianchi retired from mountaineering and became an best-selling author of adventure fiction.
Vincenzo Gionetti reached the summit of Rotale in 2007, but died when an avalanche hit him on his descent, killing four other climbers in his team.
Elena Brivio returned to mountaineering and became the first woman to summit Rotale during winter, in 2013.
Patrizio hosts Udinese and both remaining survivors every year at the Royal Palace in Messelia.
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