Dodging the polar bears that have been abundant in Greenland this summer, Matteo Della Bordella and his team have opened a new big wall route on the isolated east coast.
In a short text, the Italian climber said they were safely down from the wall (see feature images) and that their new route was 1,200m, 35 pitches, with difficulties up to 7b. The team included Silvan Schupbach and Alex Gammeter of Switzerland, and Symon Welfringer of France.
At the base of the big wall. Photo: Matteo Della Bordella
The team had had to retreat from a previous attempt last week because of 100kph winds. This week was their last chance, as they were running out of food and time. They still have at least two weeks of kayaking to make it back to civilization, and they want to keep the expedition self-sufficient by avoiding motorboat support.
Polar bears around
Their kayak route may not be straightforward, as polar bears remain abundant in southern Greenland. One bear even visited their camp a few days ago. “It ran away as soon as it saw us,” Della Bordella wrote.
A polar bear visited the climbers’ base camp last week. Photo: Matteo Della Bordella
