The Cultural Olympiad Starts with Mountain Heroes

A meeting with the legendary American photographer Jim Herrington at ‘Una Montagna di Libri’ in Cortina d’Ampezzo kicked off the Cultural Olympiad programme.

The Milano Cortina 2026 Cultural Olympics officially opened with the legendary American photographer Jim Herrington. The author who portrayed the icons of mountaineering in the book "The Climbers", in sixty black and white photographs, taken on film, was the protagonist of an incredible meeting at Una Montagna di Libri (A Mountain of Books), the international literature festival in Cortina d'Ampezzo. A unique opportunity to return to the "golden age" of 20th century climbing and together to put ourselves in the shoes, or rather, behind the lens of an absolute protagonist of contemporary photography.

Cultural Olympiad

The meeting inaugurated the calendar of events that animates the Cultural Olympics, a multidisciplinary and widespread program to promote Olympic and Paralympic Values ​​through the union of culture, heritage and sport. On the road to the Milano Cortina 2026 Games.

The event took place on 27 January 2024 at the Palazzo delle Poste, Sala Cultura in Cortina, and was opened by greetings from Domenico De Maio, Director of Education and Culture at the Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026. Animating and moderating the debate was Andrea Monti, Communications Director of the Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026, and Francesco Chiamulera, responsible for Una Montagna di Libri. The Councillor for Culture of Cortina d'Ampezzo Monica De Mattia also participated and brought the administration's greetings.  

The meeting

The meeting was a journey among the icons of mountaineering. From Jim Herrington, sixty original large format, black and white photographs, all shot on film. From Beckey, Cassin and Diemberger to Messner, Robbins and Wickwire, master climbers who from the 1930s to the 1970s used primitive equipment along with their remarkable ingenuity, talent and fortitude to tackle challenging climbs around the world. In the foreword of “The Climbers” (Antiga Edizioni), climber Alex Honnold provides the context for looking at past successes on the rock, while writer Greg Child's personal and informative essay explores the history and achievements of famous and lesser-known climbers. An event created in collaboration with the Fondazione Cortina.

The author

Jim Herrington began climbing in the Sierra Nevada in the 1970s and now divides his time between Owens Valley, California, New York City and southern Europe. His photographs have appeared on album covers, in international advertising campaigns and in magazines such as «Vanity Fair», «Rolling Stone», «Esquire» and «GQ», and have been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in galleries in New York , Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and elsewhere.