Climbing is his true talent, but he didn’t discover it immediately. He spent his youth on the basketball courts of the province of Venice, where he was born and raised. Mirco Grasso, born in 1993, is today one of the leading exponents of research mountaineering, investigating virgin valleys, walls, and mountains.

His passion for the mountains — or, rather, for adventure — emerged when he was 20. Adulthood drew Mirco away from basketball and brought him closer and closer to trails and vertical walls, likely in response to a need he felt. “I was looking for situations that aren’t predictable, where it’s necessary to make choices that, even when trivial, can change the course of events.” Soon Mirco Grasso began to pursue mountaineering, viewing the vertical as a journey to freedom. “There you choose the best route, you evaluate the risks, you decide the goal.”

The real turning point came when he set foot in a climbing gym for the first time. In the beginning it was curiosity, and then a true passion destined to touch every facet of his life. A discovery that continues today, in the constant evolution of style and the way in which Mirco approaches the mountains. All of which he has to balance with his job as an IT consultant in the business intelligence sector. Nevertheless, in recent years Mirco Grasso has managed to complete expeditions and climbs in Patagonia, such as the Pilar Rojo at Aguja Mermoz; in Yosemite, where he took on the west face of Mount Watkins; in Kyrgyzstan, with the ascent of Perestroika on Slesova Peak; and in Jordan, with the repetition of “Pull the Devil by the Tail” on Jabel Barrah in the Wadi Rum desert. First-class repetitions, added to the many routes he has developed in recent years. Difficult and technical climbs, both on rock and on ice. And always with a minimalist and clean style, respectful of the mountains and the natural environment.