DELLA BORDELLA: ORGE, KARAKORAM - es

NEW EXPEDITION STARTED BY FERRINO AMBASSADOR MATTEO DELLA BORDELLA

Matteo and teammates François Cazzanelli, Silvan Schüpbach, and Symon Welfringer have begun the approach hike that will take them to the 7285-meter summit of Ogre, one of the most beautiful and difficult mountains in the Karakoram, Pakistan.

Matteo della Bordella has no doubts:

"This project represents an evolution of my mountaineering, a step beyond what I have been dealing with until now. I see Ogre as a mountain as vertical and as difficult as Cerro Torre, but very high!"

The mountaineer, a member of the Ragni di Lecco and of the Italian Academic Alpine Club, over the past decade has been the protagonist of climbs at the highest levels worldwide, such as the recent first alpine-style ascent of the east face of Cerro Torre in Patagonia, or the difficult new route opened on the great face of the Siren Tower in Greenland. Climbs always conducted under the banner of a light and "by fair means" approach, respectful of the mountains and the natural context in which they are set; a style for which Matteo has found valuable support in his collaboration with Ferrino, which puts the best of its technical equipment at his disposal.

For him, too, however, the expedition to the Ogre, which is in these very hours just getting underway, certainly constitutes an innovative and more demanding challenge than he has been able to tackle so far.

The history of this mountain, which has entered the legends of great mountaineering, speaks volumes. To date, only three climbing teams have been able to reach its summit. The first to climb the 7285-meter Ogre was the British climbers Chris Boninghton and Doug Scott in 1977, who were the protagonists of an epic and tragic descent after an accident that caused Scott to break both legs. It was not until 2001 that the group led by German star Thomas Huber succeeded in repeating the feat of the two British pioneers, while in 2013 American climbers Hayden Kennedy and Kyle Dempster made their third ascent, opening a new route on the South Face, which earned them the Piolet d'Or, the mountaineering Oscar.

In tackling this new adventure, Matteo will have at his side a trio of close-knit and highly talented companions. Together with him, in fact, there are Matterhorn guide François Cazzanelli, protagonist in the past years of splendid speed ascents at high altitude, the Swiss Silvan Schüpbach and the French Symon Welfringer, with whom the Italian climber has already shared several ascents and expeditions.

In the coming days, Matteo and his companions will complete the trek to Ogre Base Camp and then have the month of July to acclimatize, detail their ascent route and find the right weather conditions to attempt the summit.

"We wish Matteo and his companions the best of luck," comments Anna Ferrino, CEO of Ferrino. "We will follow their adventure with trepidation, a fine example of how, even today, mountaineering can open itself up to ever new challenges under the banner of exploration and discovery. We hope that our Instinct 45 backpack can accompany Matteo all the way to the summit and that the Blizzard II tent we provided will provide shelter and comfort for him and his companions to recharge their batteries during such a long and difficult climb."