1906 Prince Luigi Amedeo Duke of the Abruzzi and Giuseppe Petigax Rwenzori Mount Stanley First Ascent Expedition

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Prince Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi

Prince Luigi Amedeo Giuseppe Maria Ferdinando Francesco di Savoia, Duke of the Abruzzi, was born on January 29, 1873, in Madrid, Spain, son of King Amadeo I of Spain and a scion of the Italian Royal House of Savoy. An admiral in the Italian Royal Navy, the Duke dedicated his immense intellect, discipline, and personal fortune to geographic and polar exploration. In 1897, the Duke led an expedition to Alaska, achieving the historic first ascent of Mount Saint Elias (5,489m) across eighty miles of uncharted ice. In 1899–1900, he mounted an expedition to the Arctic Ocean, setting a new 'Farthest North' world record at latitude 86°34′ N. In 1906, he turned to equatorial Africa, achieving the first ascents of all major glaciated summits of the Rwenzori range (the 'Mountains of the Moon'), including Mount Stanley (Margherita Peak, 5,109m). In 1909, the Duke organized the definitive pioneering expedition to K2 (8,611m) in the Karakoram, accompanied by brilliant mountain photographer Vittorio Sella, topographer Filippo De Filippi, and Courmayeur guides led by Joseph Petigax. Approaching up the Baltoro Glacier, the Duke surveyed K2 from all flanks and identified the southeast ridge as the mountain's only viable climbing route—christening it the 'Abruzzi Spur'. The team climbed the lower ridge to approximately 6,250 meters before being stopped by severe technical terrain and porters' exhaustion. Turning to neighboring Chogolisa (7,665m), the Duke pushed up the Southeast Ridge to 7,498 meters in dense fog, establishing a human altitude world record that remained unbroken until the 1922 British Everest expedition. The Duke's 1909 expedition produced the first accurate topographical maps and panoramic photographic surveys of the Central Karakoram, laying the foundational blueprint for every subsequent expedition on K2. He passed away on March 18, 1933, in Italian Somaliland, revered as one of the greatest expedition commanders in world history.

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Giuseppe Petigax

Giuseppe 'Joseph' Petigax was born on June 27, 1860, in Courmayeur at the foot of Mont Blanc in the Valle d'Aosta, Italy. Trained from youth in the rigorous traditions of the Courmayeur Mountain Guides Society (Società Guide Alpine Courmayeur), Petigax emerged as one of the most technically accomplished, calm, and trustworthy guides in the Western Alps, renowned for his exceptional route-finding instinct on treacherous ice and loose metamorphic rock. In 1897, Prince Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi, selected Petigax as his chief climbing guide for an expedition to Alaska. Across eighty miles of crevassed glaciers, Petigax led the summit team up the Newton Glacier to achieve the historic maiden first ascent of Mount Saint Elias (5,489 m). In 1899–1900, Petigax accompanied the Duke on his famous Arctic expedition aboard the Stella Polare, surviving an epic polar winter. In the summer of 1906, Petigax led the Duke's expedition into the mist-shrouded Rwenzori Mountains ('Mountains of the Moon') on the border of Uganda and the Congo. In foul weather and dense mist, Petigax hacked steps up equatorial glaciers to summit Margherita Peak (5,109 m) on Mount Stanley, as well as every other major summit in the range. In 1909, Petigax served as head guide on the Duke's historic Karakoram expedition to K2, pioneering the route up the Southeast Ridge that bears the Duke's name—the Abruzzi Spur—and reaching 7,498 metres on Chogolisa to set a world altitude record that stood for thirteen years. Petigax passed away in Courmayeur on February 7, 1926, honored across Italy as a peerless mountain pioneer.