Matteo Della Bordella is a regular in Patagonia in the summer, but this time he wants to climb its granite spires in winter. In the Southern Hemisphere, that’s now.
He left today to attempt the first winter ascent of the Goretta Pillar on Fitz Roy (3,405m). Della Bordella is teaming up with Tommaso Lamantia, a K2 and Cerro Torre summiter, and Marco Majori, who climbed with Della Bordella on a previous expedition to the Peruvian Andes.
Although Della Bordella knows the Patagonian peaks very well, he has not visited them in winter and is not a winter specialist.
“I am curious to discover something I already know from a new perspective,” Della Bordella explained in a press release.
Fitz Roy. Photo: Matteo Della Bordella/Ragni di lecco
The Italian climber will ascend the (northern) Goretta Pillar via the Casarotto route, which he already completed in summer.
The 1,250m route was soloed by the Italian legend Renato Casarotto in 1979. Several variations of it have been done over the years, but the original line is graded 6c (6b, C1) in summer. Winter conditions, with the cracks and ledges covered in ice and snow, will be a different story — and a world’s first.
“For Marco Majori, there’s also a personal connection, as his father was one of Renato Casarotto’s climbing partners, so this line became the natural choice,” Della Bordella wrote.
Colin Haley of the U.S. soloed Fitz Roy in winter in 2022. ExplorersWeb rated that feat the second-best expedition of that year, but he chose the Supercanaleta route.
