At the OUTDOOR & ORBDAYS trade show (May 17-19), there will be in-depth discussions that go beyond the product, but also include mountain culture in a broader sense, touching on topics such as awareness in the alpine environment, frequentation, recognition of risks and their causes, first and foremost climate change.
In this regard, on Monday 18 at the stand AKU, Claudio Artoni, geologist specializing in snow science and Polar Guide, who at the Trento Film Festival gave a lecture titled Men and Avalanches. An evening with multiple voices that also involved a psychologist and a rescuer to offer a comprehensive view of the theme in its various aspects.
Claudio will be available to those interested in deepening the relationship between man and the mountain, with particular attention to the ongoing environmental transformation due to the climate crisis.
Who is Claudio Artoni, geologist and snow scientist
Snow scientist and technical manager of the EuroCold Lab system at the Department of Environmental and Earth Sciences (DISAT) at the University of Milan Bicocca, Claudio Artoni deals with the analysis of mineral dust in snow, microphysical characteristics and snowpack stability, sampling and monitoring in high-altitude and polar environments.
Trained as a geologist specializing in micropaleontology, he obtained a PhD in Polar Sciences from Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. The doctoral project focused on the study of mineral dust in the snowpack with a scope ranging from Svalbard to Antarctica through the Alps.
For several years, he has also been a national instructor for the Italian Avalanche Service, a professional member of the American Avalanche Association (A3) and the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA), ambassador of the citizen science project “Community Snow Observations”, vice-president of the avalanche commission (AVA-com) of the International Commission of Alpine Rescue (ICAR), member of the Avalanche Transceiver Interference Working Group of Avalanche Canada.
A certified Polar Guide, he has participated in numerous research expeditions in the Arctic and Antarctica. Associated with the Institute of Polar Sciences of the National Research Council (CNR-ISP), in 2021 and 2022 he was station leader for several months at the Italian base “Dirigibile Italia” in Ny-Ã…lesund, Svalbard. During these months, he managed the scientific instrumentation in the Gruvebadet laboratory for particulate analysis in the air, was responsible for the safety of all researchers at the base, and conducted sampling and stratigraphy of the snowpack on numerous glaciers on the island of Spitsbergen.
In 2022, he participated in the 38th expedition to Antarctica at the Italian base “Mario Zucchelli” for the MIMIC project, which aims to analyze the multidisciplinary aspects of the Melbourne volcano. He conducted some surface snow coring on the caldera and slopes of Melbourne. Since 2025, he has been an ambassador for Antarctica for the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators.
A member of the Italian Glaciological Committee, the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS-Italy), the International Glaciological Society, the Italian Geological Society, and the Lombard Glaciological Service. He loves to share his passion for snow and ice in conferences and outreach events.
