Italian climbers Matteo Della Bordella and Marco Majori have achieved the first winter ascent of Via Casarotto on the Goretta Pillar of Fitz Roy (3,405m), a historic milestone in Patagonian alpinism.
Supported by the Italian Alpine Club (CAI) and the Ragni di Lecco group, the expedition departed from Italy on August 5 and reached El Chalten after a challenging journey. Their goal was to tackle the iconic northern route — a visionary line, first pioneered solo by the legendary Renato Casarotto in January 1979 — in full winter conditions.
Della Bordella, Majori, and Tommaso Lamantia made a first attempt on the route early in the expedition, but the extreme cold and wind rendered their hands too frozen to manage the ropes. Lamantia returned home after this attempt, leaving Della Bordella and Majori to persist.
The climb. Photo: Matteo Della Bordella
As weather windows remained stubbornly closed, doubts crept in. Finally, at the very end of the trip, a brief good forecast allowed them to launch another attempt. They began on Friday, bivouacked on the wall, and reached the summit on Sunday after three intense days.
The route covers 1,300m over 35 pitches, with difficulties up to grade VII and aid sections (A1-A2). Winter transformed the challenge: shorter days meant only half the climbing time compared to summer, with nighttime temperatures dropping to -20°C and midday highs barely reaching 5°C in the sun. Early morning starts were especially punishing in the biting cold.
Photo: Matteo Della Bordella
Renato Casarotto
Renato Casarotto (1948-1986), born near Vicenza, Italy, was a master of bold solo and winter ascents in the Alps and Himalaya. Among his achievements are the Cozzolino Dihedral on Mangart, the Freney trilogy, and the east face of the Grandes Jorasses, all in winter. Further afield, he topped out on McKinley via the “Ridge of No Return”, climbed the north ridge of Broad Peak, and tried the “Magic Line” on K2, where he lost his life in 1986.
Climbing up the Pillar. Photo: Matteo Della Bordella
Casarotto’s Patagonia legacy began in late 1978 with a climbing group from the Italian town of Morbegno. The rest of the group left after a failed attempt on Fitz Roy, but Casarotto continued, with vital radio support from his wife, Goretta Traverso, at Base Camp. After one unsuccessful summit push, he succeeded on January 19, 1979 — the first solo ascent of Fitz Roy and the only route opened solo on the massif.
Casarotto dedicated the north pillar to his wife. The line’s technical demands and exposure have kept repeats rare, cementing its status as one of Patagonia’s toughest routes.
A long way down. Photo: Matteo Della Bordella
Fitz Roy
Fitz Roy is famed for its razor-sharp granite and unrelenting weather. The peak’s first climb was a summer effort on Feb. 2, 1952, by the French team of Lionel Terray, Guido Magnone, Pierre Lesueur, Jean Arlaud, and Jacques Guipond via the southeast ridge. The first confirmed winter ascent came much later, in July 1986, when Argentine climbers Eduardo Brenner, Gabriel Ruiz, and Sebastian de la Cruz succeeded on the Supercanaleta route, a 1,600m line originally established in 1965. The first winter solo ascent was in 1990 by Yasushi Yamanoi, via the Southwest Buttress.
Della Bordella and Majori on top. Photo: Matteo Della Bordella
The climbers’ take
“Early on, with Tommy [Lamantia], we had a good try, and that alone made the trip worth it. Being on the wall in winter, with the cold and being alone, was amazing. You feel so small against these huge mountains. Then came the hard parts, the good weather window that wouldn’t open, the doubts. But in Patagonia, you have to push until the end, and it paid off. It was a great climb, like in summer, but with shorter days and much colder temps. Starting early in the morning was tough. The route is the same — 35 pitches and 1,300m — but in winter, you have half the time to climb. It was a huge challenge, made even better by following Casarotto’s steps and doing it first in winter, in the style he liked,” Della Bordella reflected.
Renato Casarotto. Photo: Summitpost
Majori shared a deeply personal connection: “I dreamed of this climb since I was a kid. My dad was here with Casarotto and took a black-and-white photo that we hung at home: it shows Casarotto tiny and alone on that huge wall. Growing up with that picture makes you dream big. And that dream came true. In the style Matteo [Della Bordella] suggested, in winter, with very low chances. I wasn’t even at full strength, coming from a K2 accident last year with my shoulder still hurting, but this climb was like shock therapy. It got me back to where I was. Thanks so much to Matteo; we were a great team with perfect teamwork.”
