I first met Marco Galliano a few years ago. A mutual friend put us in touch about Alpine snowboarding and we spoke on the phone about what we were doing in the mountains. Since then we’ve travelled and done lots of backcountry races (Alpine snowboarding) together in Italy, France and Switzerland.

His passion for snowboarding, the mountains and travelling has taken him up mountains in Norway, Turkey and to the top of the Elbrus in the Caucasus.
In August 2006, he went even higher, up the 7,546 metre Muztagh-Ata (in Chinese, “father of the ice mountains”, considered the world’s highest ski-able peak, thus becoming the first Italian to go up and down it with a snowboard.
Knowing him, I don’t think this ephemeral record interests him that much; his real religion is being in the mountains with the genuinely open mind that distinguishes our little world of snowboarder-alpinists, trying to get the best of both worlds.
This short interview gives us an insight into his personality.

GIANCARLO COSTA: Well then Marco, is it more difficult to go up and down Muztagh-Ata or organize an expedition to it?

MARCO GALLIANO: There are various sorts of difficulties to be sure. Organizing an expedition, on the other hand (though I’d prefer to call it “ a high altitude holiday), you can’t plan in advance how many days it will take to summit. This unknown, added to all the work this sort of project involves, is fatiguing: bureaucratic formalities, simple but interminable, careful choice of equipment, studied down to the last details to optimize material, and continual, intense training sessions. All this without forgetting my real work and my girlfriend, who’s not too happy about my departure. The difficulties were overcome thanks to the energy that mountains, snow and snowboarding convey.

GC: Reaching 7,546 metres above sea without using oxygen bottles, what problems are involved? How did you prepare and acclimatize?

Going this high was a new and interesting experience for me. The Muztagh-Ata is known as a technically easy 7,000. That you can summit with equipment on your feet proves this. I didn’t see anyone using oxygen bottles. Sure, you feel the altitude. The first night, in camp 2 (6,400 m), I didn’t have very sweet dreams. Above 7,000 m everything is much more fatiguing; your body only adapts through willpower. I found strength I didn’t know I had. I think that at a certain height I got to know my board in a new way. You get acclimatized during the countless ascents humping up the material and getting the high altitude camps in place. Obviously you have to be very fit in the first place. During normal training for the winter season, I did several ascents with loads similar to the ones I’d have to carry up Muztagh, and increasing the height gain each time. It’s very important to find the right new stimuli in training, ones that don’t bore you on an emotional level but fire you up with the enthusiasm that only this sort of experience can transmit three months before actually setting out.

GC: A journey like this put you in contact with worlds very different from ours. Travelling in Kyrgyzstan and China, what differences did you notice? Did you use local porters? What did you think of them?

MG: In mountain villages in these two countries, customs and lifestyle are very similar. The traditional yurta, the tents of the nomad shepherds in Kyrgyzstan, are also to be found in the villages at the foot of the Muztagh-Ata in China. The same goes for the Kyrghisi shepherds’ headwear, worn by everyone in these villages, people who earn a good living working as porters for expeditions, while the women and children sell their artisan produce. I decided not to use porters, to climb the mountain through my own efforts, not because I didn’t want to give work to these lovely people. At Kashgar, the only Chinese town where we spent a couple of days, life is very different. You see a lot of contradictions in this emerging society: chaotic traffic, cars and old mule-drawn carts, opposite an enormous shopping centre there’s a street barber, and next door to a new internet-point there’s a blacksmith making tools. Every time I go to countries I don’t know, I come back with indelible memories, which no one can ever take away.

GC: With an adventure like this, how much does the snowboard itself account for, and what are all the other aspects?

MG: Thanks to the snowboard, I started travelling and met a whole lot of people. Just imagine, on the Elbrus (in the Caucasus) I met a Russian guide and without knowing beforehand I met him again on Muztagh-Ata. As on other trips, in Norway, Turkey and the Caucasus, I’ve always travelled with and for my snowboard, discovering new slopes to do in complete freedom.
Here it was different: the desire to start doing high altitudes forced to compromise. In Norway, the aim was to do as much as powder as possible everyday, ie. exploit the long Nordic days to manage two or three runs a day. In the Caucasus and especially in this last experience the priority was to summit with the snowboard.
During the ascent I wondered several times what I’d do if I had problems with the weight of the board. Did it make sense to leave the board just to get to the top? I kept saying NO, because my way of doing a mountain stems from the pleasure of descending again on my snowboard. People who share this intense passion of mine will understand!

GC: Ever since snowboards appeared in the mountains, traditionalists have looked a bit askance at them. Was it the same for a high altitude alpine expedition?

MG: I think the snowboard has at last been accepted as not just a fad but a piece of real mountain equipment. Just look a what the unforgettable Marco Siffredi did! The snowboard developed quickly. It’s now reliable and comparable to skis. Everyone should earn the respect of the public through their own efforts. That’s my advice to anyone who needs it...
An expedition is a world of its own. When you have certain alpine objectives, it no longer matters what equipment you choose for such an experience. True, the snowboard isn’t the most appropriate thing to carry up a 7,000, but it’s equally true that no other piece of equipment would have motivated me the same.

GC: You’re not a professional climber, how did you manage this expedition?

MG: No disrespect for true, professional alpinists, in a class of their, obviously beyond the reach of my skills. But despite this, and thanks to the snowboard (which I took up in '89) and my desire to find my limits in the mountains, I’ve earned the trust of the companies with which I’ve worked as a promoter. With Custom Made Snowboards, we working on optimizing a special board for the backcountry. These tips and the organization of events like the MBR were given coverage by TVs and specialist magazines, enabling me to contact certain companies I’d like to thank once again for the excellent material they provided me with for this last adventure. Thanks to The North Face, TSL, Ferrino, Kayland Calzature, Monviso Ski, Maplus Scioline, not only did I reach the summit but I got back down in one piece, all the way on my snowboard, the first Italian to do it.

GC: What’s your next target going to be?

MG: You know me, so you know that if I say a thing it’s because I’ve already got a definite plan. I think I’ll be off in autumn 2008, destination Cho Oyu.
This time, if it comes off, it’ll be a real expedition and therefore much more complex organizationally and, above all, far more demanding technically. That’s why I don’t want to say much here. In the meantime, even though it won’t be easy, I hope to find new sponsors to help offset the out-of-pocket expenses of such as expedition. The only certainty is that I’ll be setting out with my board again!!

I first met Marco Galliano a few years ago. A mutual friend put us in touch about Alpine snowboarding and we spoke on the phone about what we were doing in the mountains.
Since then we’ve travelled and done lots of backcountry races (Alpine snowboarding) together in Italy, France and Switzerland.
His passion for snowboarding, the mountains and travelling has taken him up mountains in Norway, Turkey and to the top of the Elbrus in the Caucasus.
In August 2006, he went even higher, up the 7,546 metre Muztagh-Ata (in Chinese, “father of the ice mountains”, considered the world’s highest ski-able peak, thus becoming the first Italian to go up and down it with a snowboard.
Knowing him, I don’t think this ephemeral record interests him that much; his real religion is being in the mountains with the genuinely open mind that distinguishes our little world of snowboarder-alpinists, trying to get the best of both worlds.
This short interview gives us an insight into his personality.

GIANCARLO COSTA: Well then Marco, is it more difficult to go up and down Muztagh-Ata or organize an expedition to it?

MARCO GALLIANO: There are various sorts of difficulties to be sure. Organizing an expedition, on the other hand (though I’d prefer to call it “ a high altitude holiday), you can’t plan in advance how many days it will take to summit. This unknown, added to all the work this sort of project involves, is fatiguing: bureaucratic formalities, simple but interminable, careful choice of equipment, studied down to the last details to optimize material, and continual, intense training sessions. All this without forgetting my real work and my girlfriend, who’s not too happy about my departure. The difficulties were overcome thanks to the energy that mountains, snow and snowboarding convey.

GC: Reaching 7,546 metres above sea without using oxygen bottles, what problems are involved? How did you prepare and acclimatize?

Going this high was a new and interesting experience for me. The Muztagh-Ata is known as a technically easy 7,000. That you can summit with equipment on your feet proves this. I didn’t see anyone using oxygen bottles. Sure, you feel the altitude. The first night, in camp 2 (6,400 m), I didn’t have very sweet dreams. Above 7,000 m everything is much more fatiguing; your body only adapts through willpower. I found strength I didn’t know I had. I think that at a certain height I got to know my board in a new way. You get acclimatized during the countless ascents humping up the material and getting the high altitude camps in place. Obviously you have to be very fit in the first place. During normal training for the winter season, I did several ascents with loads similar to the ones I’d have to carry up Muztagh, and increasing the height gain each time. It’s very important to find the right new stimuli in training, ones that don’t bore you on an emotional level but fire you up with the enthusiasm that only this sort of experience can transmit three months before actually setting out.

GC: A journey like this put you in contact with worlds very different from ours. Travelling in Kyrgyzstan and China, what differences did you notice? Did you use local porters? What did you think of them?

MG: In mountain villages in these two countries, customs and lifestyle are very similar. The traditional yurta, the tents of the nomad shepherds in Kyrgyzstan, are also to be found in the villages at the foot of the Muztagh-Ata in China. The same goes for the Kyrghisi shepherds’ headwear, worn by everyone in these villages, people who earn a good living working as porters for expeditions, while the women and children sell their artisan produce. I decided not to use porters, to climb the mountain through my own efforts, not because I didn’t want to give work to these lovely people. At Kashgar, the only Chinese town where we spent a couple of days, life is very different. You see a lot of contradictions in this emerging society: chaotic traffic, cars and old mule-drawn carts, opposite an enormous shopping centre there’s a street barber, and next door to a new internet-point there’s a blacksmith making tools. Every time I go to countries I don’t know, I come back with indelible memories, which no one can ever take away.

GC: With an adventure like this, how much does the snowboard itself account for, and what are all the other aspects?
MG: Thanks to the snowboard, I started travelling and met a whole lot of people. Just imagine, on the Elbrus (in the Caucasus) I met a Russian guide and without knowing beforehand I met him again on Muztagh-Ata. As on other trips, in Norway, Turkey and the Caucasus, I’ve always travelled with and for my snowboard, discovering new slopes to do in complete freedom.
Here it was different: the desire to start doing high altitudes forced to compromise. In Norway, the aim was to do as much as powder as possible everyday, ie. exploit the long Nordic days to manage two or three runs a day. In the Caucasus and especially in this last experience the priority was to summit with the snowboard.
During the ascent I wondered several times what I’d do if I had problems with the weight of the board. Did it make sense to leave the board just to get to the top? I kept saying NO, because my way of doing a mountain stems from the pleasure of descending again on my snowboard. People who share this intense passion of mine will understand!

GC: Ever since snowboards appeared in the mountains, traditionalists have looked a bit askance at them. Was it the same for a high altitude alpine expedition?

MG: I think the snowboard has at last been accepted as not just a fad but a piece of real mountain equipment. Just look a what the unforgettable Marco Siffredi did! The snowboard developed quickly. It’s now reliable and comparable to skis. Everyone should earn the respect of the public through their own efforts. That’s my advice to anyone who needs it...
An expedition is a world of its own. When you have certain alpine objectives, it no longer matters what equipment you choose for such an experience. True, the snowboard isn’t the most appropriate thing to carry up a 7,000, but it’s equally true that no other piece of equipment would have motivated me the same.

GC: You’re not a professional climber, how did you manage this expedition?

MG: No disrespect for true, professional alpinists, in a class of their, obviously beyond the reach of my skills. But despite this, and thanks to the snowboard (which I took up in '89) and my desire to find my limits in the mountains, I’ve earned the trust of the companies with which I’ve worked as a promoter. With Custom Made Snowboards, we working on optimizing a special board for the backcountry. These tips and the organization of events like the MBR were given coverage by TVs and specialist magazines, enabling me to contact certain companies I’d like to thank once again for the excellent material they provided me with for this last adventure. Thanks to The North Face, TSL, Ferrino, Kayland Calzature, Monviso Ski, Maplus Scioline, not only did I reach the summit but I got back down in one piece, all the way on my snowboard, the first Italian to do it.

GC: What’s your next target going to be?

MG: You know me, so you know that if I say a thing it’s because I’ve already got a definite plan. I think I’ll be off in autumn 2008, destination Cho Oyu.
This time, if it comes off, it’ll be a real expedition and therefore much more complex organizationally and, above all, far more demanding technically. That’s why I don’t want to say much here. In the meantime, even though it won’t be easy, I hope to find new sponsors to help offset the out-of-pocket expenses of such as expedition. The only certainty is that I’ll be setting out with my board again!!

By Giancarlo Costa