The possible impossible

by Katrina Rast (Australia)

I didn't expect to find Italy

Getulio Felipe Fernandes II. A name that probably means nothing to you–well, not yet, anyway. To me, it was also just a name, another kid with a dream of climbing a mountain. That was, until I met him. Getulio was born 14 years ago with Cerebral Palsy, a condition doctors told him would leave him paralysed for life. At age 7, determined, he took his first steps. Slow, laboured steps, however, are a far cry from scaling a mountain. Fast forward to April 17, 2019. We are at Milan airport, meeting the now 14-year-old Getulio and his team, with the mission to scale Punta Penia (3343 m) on Marmolada, the highest point in the Dolomites. An enthusiastic boy who is struggling to push his luggage cart along meets our eyes, dragging his feet with every step. We try to hide the doubt behind smiling faces – how could he possibly succeed? . Marmolada is not your everyday hill; climbing it involves crossing a glacier scarred by huge crevasses followed by a steep climb requiring ropes, crampons and ice axes. We decided to begin with a test run at the base of the mountains. Hindered by the deep snow, it took Getulio a full hour to achieve just 50 m. At this pace, he would take 40 hours to reach the summit, not to mention the increasing difficulty of the climb. Regardless, he was determined to try. Deflated, we planned for the worst. We plotted escape routes and discussed emergency helicopter pick-ups, while mentally preparing ourselves for the hard conversations that we knew we would eventually have with Getulio. That afternoon we took the old lift up to stay in Piano Dei Fiacconi Refuge, ready for the next morning’s attempt. That night we saw a sombre Getulio, the reality of what he was trying to achieve weighing heavily on him. It was a tense night, full of anticipation.At 5.30, Getulio came into the dining hall with the guides, hoping the night had brought a harder snowpack to walk on. His face was distant, preoccupied. After a light breakfast, we walked him out with hope in our hearts. With face set hard in concentration and few words, Getulio set off, one step at a time, quickly disappearing out of sight. We headed off an hour later intending to film the attempt from the west ridge, not expecting them to be far. But we couldn’t find them. Suddenly, at 11 am, they appeared at the bottom of the Via Ferrata! Just to reach this point was an incredible feat and the guides urged him to go down. But Getulio refused. Exhausted, they equipped themselves with ice axes and crampons and begun up the icy face. With hearts racing, we all searched for them to reappear, still wondering how on Earth Getulio could possibly climb a cliff when he couldn’t even lift his feet. To climb in this style is difficult for anybody let alone Getulio. This kind of climbing would be the equivalent of an able-bodied person summiting Mount Everest. The radio silence was deafening. Minutes turned into hours. Everyone knew that even if Getulio made it up the steep section, there was another couple of hours hiking exhausted through deep snow to the summit. How would he find the energy to reach the summit? Suddenly the radio buzzed into life. Not only had they negotiated the climb successfully, they were 15 minutes from the summit! One step at a time, Getulio pushed on. Four times he was urged to return by the guides, but Getulio demanded they continue, and here he was, moments from reaching the highest point in the Dolomites! We were filled with tears of joy! On April 21st, 9 hours after departure, Getulio had done the impossible. I walked away from this experience a rich person. Not from money or possessions, but from a lesson learned in life. I could never imagine finding such incredible inspiration as Getulio on my travels and it is the collection of such experiences that give meaning and substance to my wanderlust.