«Silvia Metzeltin Buscaini, born in Lugano in 1938, mountaineer, gifted author and geologist by profession, is a dynamic and decisive spirit in the development of women’s alpinism. She is an advocate of unrestricted mountaineering and is deeply committed to ethical principles and honesty towards both oneself and others, including non-climbers and sponsors.

She has climbed extensively, especially in the Dolomites and in Patagonia, and participated in numerous expeditions to Asia, Africa, North and South America. She has published several books and papers in German, Italian, French and English, some jointly with her husband, on geology for mountaineers, on women’s mountaineering, and on climbing in the Dolomites and in Patagonia. The monograph on Patagonia, in particular, met with universal praise and is widely recognized as the most comprehensive publication to date on this inspiringly beautiful wilderness.»

Albert Mountain Award 1996