Reaching the mountaintop of K2 by wearing leather made in Friuli and boots made in Veneto. Thanks to such reliable equipment, Italian alpinists, led by Ardito Desio, successfully reached the top of the mountain, for the very first time, in 1954. Alessandro Boscarino tells us about the story of that magnificent expedition, while presenting today his book: “K2. A tale about the impossible mountain”. His presentation will take place at Pordenonelegge, a cultural event arranged in the town of Pordenone, in Friuli. It is a rather peculiar book: it tells about the mountain, and the climbers who succeeded in reaching its top, through words and vintage pictures. Yet, readers will also find maps showing paths and signposts, starting from the ones followed by Italian alpinists, equipped with boots made in Veneto.
Ready, steady, go
As reported by Il Gazzettino, the Executive Board of Research National Council assessed the most suitable leather to use for manufacturing boots Italian alpinists should have worn during their expedition. They eventually chose the one processed by Conceria Presot, based in Porcia, which proved to be “most suitable because of its lightness, flexibility and waterproofness”. Presot made its raw hides available to Giuseppe Garbuio shoe factory, based in Montebelluna. Consequently, they made thirty-five pairs of heavy and thermic shoes, plus 40 more for approaching and around 100 more for the Sherpa. The whole provision was complimentary, just in return for seeing their name mentioned in the books of history and world alpinism.
A modern tannery
Since then, Conceria Presot has grown considerably: they are now a dynamic and modern company. “Our aim is to reduce, more and more, environmental effects: at present, 85% of power we make use of comes from renewable sources of energy – points out Eugenia Presot while talking to Il Gazzettino – and we strive hard to recycle 100% of processing scraps for other production processes. We are a zero-waste company”.
Pictures taken from conceriapresot.it
