DPM Climbing

Tito Traversa: A Young Life Cut Short

By Jake · · Updated

Contents

Bio

Tito Claudio Traversa was a young Italian climber who tragically fell to his death while sport climbing in France. Even though he was only twelve years old, he had accomplished many great feats and had a bright future in rock climbing. For example, Traversa climbed his first 8a (5.13b) at only eight years old (Faith, at Donnas in Italy's Aosta Valley). Planetmountain reported that he followed it with his first 8b (5.13d) at age nine and his first 8b+ (5.14a) at age 10.

He was already proving to be a rock climbing prodigy, but the world will never know what he could have progressed to. He passed away on July 5th, 2013, after a climbing accident in France. While we will never know what his future held, we do know that he was a young boy who was filled with passion and talent, and that he was strong, generous, and kind.

Death

Seriously Injured in Climbing Fall

While climbing in Orpierre, France, Tito Traversa fell to the ground and was quickly rushed to a local hospital, where he was fighting for his life. Initially, there wasn’t much information available publicly besides that Tito was in serious condition at Grenoble hospital. News stories here and there hinted at some type of equipment failure, but no one knew what really happened.

Some details slowly came to light, including that the twelve year old climbing prodigy had fallen roughly 15 to 20 meters (about 50 to 65 feet) because his quickdraws had been assembled incorrectly, with the carabiners held only by the rubber keepers. At the time, this video was going around to illustrate what could have possibly happened with the equipment.

Tito fell on Tuesday, July 2, and was placed in a medically induced coma. After a three-day fight for his life, he passed away on July 5, 2013. His parents, Barbara Sirio and Giovanni Traversa, agreed to donate his organs.

Report Reveals Cause of Accident

A report from Grimper Magazine released the first factual information about Tito’s cause of death, noting that the investigation was still ongoing. Grimper did release a photo (courtesy of the French police – see below) to show the orientation of the quickdraw and string to illustrate the error, hoping that the information could help prevent future accidents. You can see the photos below, noting that the plastic thong is placed wrong in one photo and correct in the other.

correctly assembled quickdraws

Correct Assembly

incorrectly assembled quickdraw where the rubber band is the only attachment for the carabiner

WRONG ASSEMBLY

The quickdraws were not Tito's own; they had been lent to him by another young climber. When he leaned back to be lowered after his 5.10 warmup, the misassembled draws on the upper part of the route pulled free one after another. Only the lower few held, and they were too low to protect him from the ground.

Italian prosecutors in Turin, near Tito's hometown of Ivrea, later opened a criminal case into the accident.

Manslaughter Charges Filed After Tito’s Accident

Investigators found that most of the quickdraws on the route had been assembled the wrong way. The carabiner passed only through the rubber keeper instead of the full-strength sewn sling, so the draws could not hold a fall.

Several people connected to the trip and the equipment were investigated. Tito's father, Giovanni, and the rest of the family joined the case as civil parties.

Three Will Face Trial For Death of Tito Traversa

In the end, three people stood trial for manslaughter in Turin. The trial opened in June 2017 and had to start over that December when the case moved to a new judge, Montagna.tv reported. The three defendants were:

  • Luca Gianmarco – head of Bside, the climbing school that organized the trip.
  • Nicola Galizia – the instructor who accompanied the group.
  • Carlo Paglioli – legal representative of Aludesign, the company that made the rubber keepers. Prosecutors argued the product did not come with adequate instructions for correct use.

Sentencing

In May 2018, Judge Maria Iannibelli convicted instructor Nicola Galizia of manslaughter in Tito's death, finding that he should have checked the equipment. He was sentenced to two years in prison, and the court ordered compensation of 100,000 euros for the family.

Luca Gianmarco of Bside and Carlo Paglioli of Aludesign were acquitted. Tito's father said the money would go to projects for children in his son's memory.

Tito's death remains a hard lesson for every climber: always check that a quickdraw's carabiner is clipped through the sewn sling, never just the rubber keeper.

Sources

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