Grignetta Spiders, the historic mountaineering group of Lecco

For those who love to climb and reside in the province of Lecco, the Grignetta Spiders Mountaineering Association is a real point of reference. The Grignetta Spiders (Ragni di Lecco) is an association which is related to the mountaineering section of Lecco of the Italian Alpine Club (CAI). They are often recognizable because they wear a distinctive red sweater, on whose left arm is visible their historical symbol of a seven-legged spider.

The group of Spiders was founded in 1946 by Giulio and Nino Bartesaghi, together with Franco Spreafico, Emilio Ratti and Gigino Amati, to which Gigi Vitali added later; he was nicknamed "The Spider" because of his special elegance in climbing.

The group was born with the will to overcome those goals that were achieved by the old figures of mountaineering of Lecco, including Riccardo Cassin and Mario Dell'Oro, which later became part of the Grignetta Spiders themselves.

After an initial period of climbing in Italy, the Spiders began to dedicate themselves to international expeditions, before in Tierra del Fuego and then on the untouched south face of Mount McKinley. This event received such media coverage to be worth its participants a congratulatory telegram from President Kennedy.

Since 1946 the group of Grignetta Spiders has never stopped for more than 60 years and has brought high the banner of Lecco in mountaineering, nationally and internationally. In recent years the group has come to count over a hundred components, which are divided into two distinct areas, that of the pure climbers and mountaineers of high altitude.

For more information about Grignetta Spiders, please visit their website: http://www.ragnilecco.com/