In January 2025, Matteo Della Bordella is in Patagonia to coordinate the CAI Eagle Team project. The stated goal of his fifteenth expedition in the Argentine cordillera is to complete “Gringos Locos,” the legendary route that cuts through the heart of the formidable northeast face of Cerro Piergiorgio. The project, launched 30 years earlier by Maurizio Giordani and Luca Maspes, has remained unfinished. Due to strong wind gusts and snowstorms, the various climbing parties that have tackled this “smooth as a blackboard” granite over the years have had to submit to the supreme law of the uncertainty of the weather in Patagonia.
But Matteo is determined to complete the first ascent and he can count on the talented young mountaineer Dario Eynard, on his first climbing expedition outside Europe, and Mirco Grasso, the skilled Venetian climber who partnered with Matteo on some excellent repetitions in the previous weeks.
Within 5 days of climbing in between storms and strong winds the trio eventually manages to reach the final ridge of Cerro Piergiorgio and close the circle. The feat represents one of the greatest stories of an entire Patagonian season and is destined to nourish the dreams of the entire climbing community for decades to come.
