Italian alpinists Matteo Della Bordella and Marco Majori have pulled off a major feat in Argentina’s Patagonia, achieving the first winter ascent of the legendary Casarotto route on the Goretta Pillar of Fitz Roy (3,405 meters). Experts describe the line as “one of the most visionary and difficult in the history of Patagonian alpinism.”
The route is named for Renato Casarotto, a renowned climber born in 1948 who died on K2 in 1986. On January 19, 1979, Casarotto reached the main summit of Fitz Roy via this path, marking the mountain’s first absolute solo ascent and the only route ever opened solo on the entire massif. With over 1,500 meters of climbing, difficulties up to grade VII, and sections of aid climbing, it remains one of Patagonia’s most demanding climbs.
“Being on the wall in winter, amid the cold and solitude, was incredible,” commented Della Bordella. “You feel minuscule in front of these immense mountains. Then came the difficulties, the good weather window that wouldn’t open, the uncertainties. But in Patagonia, you have to hold on until the very end, and in the end, determination paid off. It was a beautiful climb, like in summer, but with shorter days and much harsher temperatures: at night the thermometer dropped to -15/-20°C, while in the central hours we reached +5°C in the sun. Getting an early start in the morning was not easy. The route is the same—35 pitches and 1,300 meters of wall—but in winter you have half the time to climb. An incredible challenge, made even more significant by retracing the steps of an alpinist like Casarotto and being the first to do it in winter, in the style he loved.”
Majori added, “This is a climb I’ve dreamed of doing since I was a boy. My father was here with Casarotto and took a photo, a black and white print we had hanging in the house: it showed Casarotto, tiny and alone, on that immense wall. Growing up with an image like that inevitably makes you dream. And that dream, in the end, came true.”