No one had succeeded in climbing all 82 in a single project when Patrick Berhault and Philippe Magnon set off in the winter of 2004 for a continuous, self-propelled traverse. Sadly, this was not completed: Berhault fell to his death after the pair had completed 65 summits.

Giovannini and Nicolini, both guides from Italy's Trento region, opted to track from west to east, ending with the Bernina. They used no mechanized transport and completed the journey in an impressive 60 days, starting in late June. They were originally joined by Merko Messanotte, who had to give up with foot problems after 21 summits.

Read the full report by Lindsay Griffin on the BMC Website