Ferdinando (or in German Ferdinand) Glück competed in cross-country skiing and ski jumping although, as a youth, he first competed in Alpine skiing. He was a tanner’s apprentice, and after military service in World War I he concentrated on Nordic skiing. In 1928, he was second in the 18 km cross-country at the Italian Championship. In 1936, he passed his exams to become a skiing instructor and coached the Italian junior team. However, Glück is better known as a mountaineer, and was known as the King of the Sella Towers, named after a group of four summits in South Tyrol, Italy. He discovered 20 new climbing routes, and was the first to climb the smooth south face of Piz Ciavazes in 1928. As an active member of the mountain rescue team, he saved many lives, and worked as a mountain guide well into his fifties.
Italy