From his early youth on, Ulises Sila Vitale learned to revere the mountains, as he became increasingly fond of them.

Ulises climbed his first significant peak (the Franke, 5,100mts / 16,700ft) in '54, with his recent eighteen's eagerness. With a pioneer's instinct and a passion for the unexplored, he took a part at many "firsts" of the mountaineering history during the next three years: the maiden ascents of the Fraile ("Friar" 5,400mts / 17,700ft), Campanario del Currul ("Currul's Belfry" 5,400mts / 17,700ft), Entrenquen (5,500mts / 18,000ft), Cuernos de la Luna ("Moon's Horns" 5,350mts / 17,500ft) and Yeporá (5,050mts / 16,600ft) peaks, all of them in the Cordón del Portillo("Defile's Chain") and also the Brasil peak in the Central Andes. This craving for "being there ahead of the rest" can often be seen along Ulises' contest against steep hills. Between '63 and '65 he added to his tally the first ascents to Huarpes (5,200mts / 17,100ft) and Quelluani (6,010mts / 19,700ft), the latter being part of the Cordillera Real de Bolivia ("Bolivia Royal Range") and the second winter climb of the Aconcagua (6,962mts / 22,841 ft). In 1968 he went back to the Cordillera Real to achieve the first integral climbing of the five Illimani summits (6,100mts / 20,000ft). He was also a member of the first Argentine expedition that successfully conquered the McKinley -Denali- at Alaska (6,194mts / 20,322ft, West Buttress Route).

Always trying to accomplish the Argentinean goal to climb an "eight thousand", he took place in the '71 Everest attempt (8.848, post-monsoon, Englishmen's route), in 1979 to the Manaslú, (8.156, post-monsoon's season, South East Ridge) and in 1981 to the Dhaulagiri (8,167 mts/26,795 ft, North's route, pre-monsoon's season). In 1993, finally, an Argentinean expedition achieved the country's first eight thousand, the Shisha Pangma (8,016 mts/26,300 ft, via Himalayas/Tibet/China), and of course, Ulises was there. But he wasn't satisfied yet and returned to the Himalayas in 1998, this time as commander of the first Mendocino expedition to the Kamet (7,756mts/25,446 ft) on Indian soil.

Other peaks conquered by Ulises: The Yerupaja (6,634 mts/21,765 ft) in the Hayhuasch Range, Peru, the Vallecitos ("Little Valleys"), the Cuerno ("Horn"), the Olivia (in the southern Tierra del Fuego), the Pircas ("Stone Fences"), the Tolosa through the Glaciar del Hombre Cojo (" Lame Man's Glacier") - the Reichert, the Plata ("Silver" 6,200 mts/20,341 ft) through the Southern Glacier, the Cerro Negro ("Black Hill"), the Catedral ("Cathedral"), the Laguna ("Lagoon"), the Mercedario (6,800 mts/22,310 ft) through the Glaciar del Caballito ("Little Horse Glacier"), the Tambillo. He has been on top of the Aconcagua, the highest peak of the Americas many times, such as the winter's climb already mentioned, the defiant direttissima via Glaciar de los Polacos ("Polish Glacier") in 1970 and the three day's summit sojourn in 1978.
But we are forgetting the volcanoes! The Chilean Villarrica and Osorno, and to the Argentinean side of the astonishing Andes: the Lanín, the Tupungato, the Maipo, the Ojos del Salado ("Sources of the Salty River") -rivalling in height with the Pissis- and only a few months ago the Tomuyo, in the Cordillera del Viento ("Wind Range") in the Neuquén province.

But mountains also take a toll on those who dare to defy them. And Ulises, whenever he could, has hurried to the rescue of troubled mountaineers. As early as 1958, being then a soldier of the Compañía de Esquiadores (Skiers Company) de Puente del Inca, he and his superior, First Lieutenant Héctor Butti, rescued a Chilean man-at-arms who was stuck at some 6,500 mts/21,300 ft on the Aconcagua. And in '78 Guillermo Vieyro and Ulises aided a Spaniard in trouble at 5,750mts/19,000 ft on the same mountain. However, sometimes the news arrive when only the last rescue waits to be done: in 1975 he brought down the bodies of the unfortunate Mendocino climbers Boggio and Páez. And in 1986, as member of a joint patrol of the Army and the Police, he had the sad duty of rescuing his comrade Vieyro's remains.

Ulises has always returned from his incredible adventures to his dearest Ithaca, the City of Luján de Cuyo (Mendoza, Argentina) where he lives with his wife Christine, who gave him three children. The city, homeland of celebrated Malbec red wines, has Ulises as a Founding Father of the Wine Co-operative Society and of the Volunteer Firemen's Corps. In '83 his fellow citizens distinguish him as Intendente (Mayor) as a tribute to his leadership.
Although he never likes to mention it, Ulises has received many acknowledgements to his deeds. Since 1990, he is a Distinguished Fellow and a Member of the Tribunal of Honour of the Asociación Argentina de Guías de Montaña (Argentinean Mountain Guides Association). In 1996 the Ejército Argentino (National Army) awarded him the "Cóndor Dorado" ("Golden Condor"). In 1998 he was elected President of the Federación de Andinismo y Escalada (Andinism and Climbing Federation). He's been also nominated to the Huarpe award of the Círculo de Periodistas de Mendoza (Mendoza's Journalists Circle) and to the "Leone D'Oro 93" of the Associazione Culturale Italia Uno (Italia One Cultural Association).

Ulises has been involved in science-related activities too, such as the surveying of the Bove Mount at the Darwin Range - (Magallanes, Chile) or the scientific expedition from the Instituto del Antártico (Antarctic Institute) to the Mesón San Juan hill in the Tunuyán High Valley.

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