Matteo Della Bordella becomes a C.A.M.P. athlete

Matteo Della Bordella, one of the strongest climbers around, a member and former president of the Ragni di Lecco, has chosen C.A.M.P. for his adventures around the world. This decision makes us happy and proud, as we know that Matteo is a highly talented athlete, after having followed his achievements over the years, from the Alps to Patagonia, Greenland to the Himalayas, often together with other C.A.M.P. athletes like Matteo De Zaiacomo, David Bacci and Nicolas Favresse. What are the basis of a partnership like this, destined to keep going, lived under the banner of mutual satisfaction, between Matteo Della Bordella and C.A.M.P.? Matteo himself supplies the answer, and we wholeheartedly agree: «First and foremost, I share values with a rope partner. We believe in what we do and have faith in each other. We are also confident that, together, we can reach goals that would be unthinkable on our own».

IDENTITY CARD
Born in 1984, Matteo Della Bordella hails from Varese. He shared his first vertical adventures with his dad Fabio, on the mountains close to home. In his words: «At the beginning, I did not find climbing so appealing. Then, after many ascents, together with my dad, my passion for this discipline became all- encompassing». In 2006 Matteo enters the Ragni di Lecco («Thanks to this I was able to grow, both as a mountaineer and as a person»), he obtained a degree in management engineering in 2008 and continued studying, completing a PhD in 2012. He feels that his road leads elsewhere, however, and decides to undertake it with courage, determination and with no compromises: «I have always dreamt of the most remote vertical walls – he explains –, where the challenge is first and foremost reaching them, then climbing them along demanding lines, possibly with no aid and as little gear as possible. I vouch for an essential type of mountaineering, light and “concrete”, so to speak, constantly looking for a confrontation that I would call by fair means with the mountains».

IN THE NAME OF ADVENTURE
The series of great extra-European feats by Matteo Della Bordella starts in 2012 with the free ascent of Freerider on El Capitan (Yosemite Valley). 2013 marks the year of two unclimbed walls: first the west face of Torre Egger (Patagonia) and then the south-west face of Uli Biaho (Karakorum). In 2014, Matteo is in Greenland with his friends: fully self-sufficient, they covered 420 km on a kayak, opened the line The great shark hunt on the Shark’s Tooth, and walked 50 km to come back. 2016 starts in Patagonia with the first repetition of the Via dei Ragni on the east face of Fitz Roy, continuing on Baffin Island with several new lines, opened after a 180-km–long approach on skis and on rubber rafts, before going back to civilisation. It’s Patagonia once again in 2017 and 2018: first ascent of the east face of Cerro Murallón and first overall ascent of Cerro Riso Patron south. It’s 2019, when Della Bordella climbs the west face of Bhagirathi IV (Himalaya) with its treacherous, shale rock top section. It’s Greenland and kayak once again – with a 350-km approach – in 2021, with the opening of Forum on the Siren Tower, and then Patagonia in 2022, when Brothers in arms on Cerro Torre finally becomes a reality. This year also marks the opening of Valore alpino on the east face of Siula Grande (Cordillera Huayhuash). Patagonia welcomes him again in 2023, where Matteo opens ¿Qué mirás, bobo? on the east face of Aguja Mermoz and repeats the incredible Care bear traverse in the Fitz Roy massif – first Italian repetition. From south to north and viceversa: 2024 is the year of Odyssea borealis on the northwest face of Drøneren (Greenland), while in 2025 Matteo signs Gringos locos on the north-west face of Cerro Piergiorgio and the first winter ascent of the Casarotto line on Fitz Roy (Patagonia).

TWO QUESTIONS FOR MATTEO DELLA BORDELLA
While we are writing, Matteo is in Scotland, where he is putting his new X- Dream ice axes to the test. We were eager to hear his views. «I’m very happy with them – he answered -. They have been benchmark tools for years, and I cannot think about any better ice-axe, especially now that they have been completely revamped. The Alpinist Tech crampons are exceptional as well, as light as they are efficient. Among other products, in addition to the Dyon quickdraws, I really like the Escape harness, which I find very comfortable». He then better explained the reasons why he has chosen C.A.M.P.: «First of all for its history, which I always found astonishing. C.A.M.P. has the mountains at its core and it’s easy to see why: whether you speak to a designer or someone in the commercial department, you realise you’re talking to a person who knows what it means to be high up on a wall. In addition to technical excellence, I am fond of the human aspect. This is why I immediately liked the idea of becoming a member of a family, where exchange is constant. I feel part of an evolutionary process and I am happy to give my direct contribution to the people who craft my tools».

C.A.M.P.: TRADITION AND INNOVATION FOR THE PAST 137 YEARS
C.A.M.P. is a world leader in the manufacture and sale of technical tools for mountaineering, climbing, hiking and ski mountaineering. Founded in Premana in 1889, in the Lecco mountains, where it still holds its headquarters, it is lead by the fourth generation of the Codega family. Crafting something special: this has been the rationale behind every tool produced at C.A.M.P. Creating a product that sets itself apart from what is already there, that makes a difference in terms of performance, durability and lightness. C.A.M.P. looks at the needs of anyone going to the mountains, analysing what offer is already on the market and providing better options to improve the experience of professionals and enthusiasts alike.

Info: www.camp.it