Giacomo "El Barba" Mosele

It does not happen to everyone to be selected for the Olympics,prepare to take to the track for the 50 km and then be sent to play a race in France only to leave the room to the family of one of the bosses of the Italian delegation.

It took place in Cortina, in 1956, at the Hotel Venezia, where the Blue team was staying, and even today giacomo Mosele, the popular "Barba" of Asiago,born in 1925, then enlisted in finance, comes drooling at the mouth when he thinks again. Years of sacrifice and, suddenly, the hope of making a good impression melts like snow in the sun. "I had to suffer and, if I didn't get my hands on him, it's only because I've always had respect for superiors. But at least the satisfaction of sending the captain to that country lifted me up. You stole my place, I told him to snout. Shame on you, you're worse than a washerboard."

An outburst that, in practice, ended his career. A few more races, but no more enthusiasm than before. From his marriage to Marcella Cunico,cousin of the Stars (Valentino, Gianfranco, Aldo and Roberto), a family of cross-country skiers who from the Asiago Plateau then took the road of the Aosta Valley, to the Alpine School, a daughter had meanwhile been born and, with it, the idea of building a future outside the military corps. Idea realized first with the purchase of the land on which he was born, in the Kaberlaba district,and then with the construction of a hotel, on top of the first bump, a hundred meters from his father's house. A budget of 40 million, an expense of 100, many sacrifices to pay this debt. Taking the master's license, right here, at the "Barba", one of the first fund centers was born. The first Trak skis had come out and between the Ave and Kaberlaba the terrain was ideal for beginners and then began to teach.

Between hotel, ski school, care of the woods and the land it is not that he advanced too much time. Yet his multiple commitments have never stopped him from cultivating his great passion, wood carving,which he now shares with his eldest daughter's husband. Their works are scattered throughout the hotel, to brighten up a completely renovated environment with the renovation of 1999. Twenty-two rooms equipped with all the services, gaming and relaxation rooms, mountain bike storage. A modern hotel, always family run : nowthe daughters and son-in-law take care of it, but the parents do not just be grandparents. However old, they always give a hand; the Beard, then, takes customers for a walk and cares for its flowers in an almost maniacal way. It no longer bottoms, in this area, and then it has equipped paths in the woods. He is over 90 years old, but does not feel the weight of age and fatigue; indeed, it always looks but even more so the spirit of a young man. Always on the move.

But what kind of athlete was the Beard in its best years? "I became a landman by accident. Ours was a large family, made up of 7 males and 3 females. Everybody worked in the house. I had never thought about skiing; I liked jumping more from a trampoline that we had carved into a conca under the house.  We didn't use skis, but tablets that we soaked in whey to make them slide more. My younger brothers, on the other hand, knew how to do it with the bottom. Bruno, born in 1928, had become individual Italian champion and relay champion among the table tennis players; Gino, 1930, had won the junior championship; Pacific, 1932, at 16 went to Australia, but before that he won all the youth competitions.

I got to the bottom by accident. The Battlefield Trophy was scheduled, which is still held today; The Azzurri would participate in the World Championships in St. Moritz: the favorites were Aristide and Severino Compagnoni, Silvio Confortola, Arcangelo Chiocchetti. A valuable watch is up for grabs. A friend, Gastone Dalle Ave, italian champion of avant-gardes, managed to convince me to participate. He gave me his training skis and a pair of shoes, which were tight. I didn't even have a suit. I wore the party dress and was ashamed to show myself as a pilgrim among purebred champions. I put on a sweater, slipped my pants into my socks and started. I didn't even know what heating was, neither did the technique. I ran up the climbs, pushed my arms because, being a woodcutter, I was strong. Muscles that looked carved in steel. Nothing but gym and weights ..... Aristide Compagnoni took a piece to get past me, and to do so he had to wait for the plan; on arrival he complimented me. I had won the ranking of the 2nd and 3rd categories; in front of me were only the 12 blue and a couple of other thick athletes.

And that's how I started my life as an athlete. Finance, who had looked at me, wanted to enlist me. I made them wait a few months, then I wore the uniform. It was August 1948. However, despite the training and teachings, I have always suffered major technical shortcomings. I was like a suede, but where it was to be pulled, I wasn't really there. I always won the uphill fraction of the alpine relays (Stelvio, Monte Canin, Monti Lussari), I beat the Olympian Cuel a Boscochiesanuova, but when the track required technique and mastery of skis, for me it was over. However I came in second twice at the Italian championships and I had earned the selection for the 50 km Olympic. I was betrayed by the hotel room: too beautiful and big for an athlete, more suitable for the captain's family. That washer woman...."