At the end of last July, the Ferrino ambassador, with the climbers of the SMAM Military Section of High Mountain of the Italian Army, opened "Alpine Value", a new route on the splendid South American peak of 6344 meters, with the precious support of our most advanced mountaineering equipment.
The collaboration between Ferrino and Matteo Della Bordella, one of the strongest and best-known Italian climbers and member of the historic Ragni della Grignetta group, has begun in the best possible way.
Last July, Matteo set off for Siula Grande, one of the most iconic and difficult mountains in the Cordillera Huayhuash, in the Peruvian Andes, to attempt to climb its unclimbed east face, roped together with Alessandro Zeni, Marco Majori, Filip Babicz and Stefano Cordaro, as part of the expedition organized by SMAM, the High Mountain Military Section of the Italian Army, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the foundation of the Alpine Corps.
Ferrino has been at Matteo's side, making available the most advanced and high-performance models of its tents and backpacks for technical mountaineering.
As often happens, projects developed before departure had to deal with reality and the conditions of the ground.
"After the first attempts to climb the East Face directly, we realized that this year the face presented many objective dangers - says Della Bordella - The winter was poor in snow and, despite the very cold temperatures, numerous rockfalls were falling from above. We made a first attempt on a very cold day, climbing about 100 meters. In the following days, with the arrival of good weather and warmer temperatures, we realized that the rockfalls were becoming more and more frequent. We discussed this several times with our companions and, in the end, we unanimously assessed that the risk was too high for us. We therefore decided to change our objective, aiming to open a new route on a pillar to the left of the face, more sheltered and safe from the rockfalls".
Even the new route identified by Matteo and his companions, however, turned out to be anything but a simple fallback: "In the first part, about 500 meters, the route climbs on rock, with difficulty around 6c. It is not an extreme route, but the climb is very beautiful, in a truly fascinating high mountain environment. Marco Majori and I led the climb, while Stefano Cordaro and Alessandro Zeni, who unfortunately were unable to be with us on the wall, made themselves available to act as our support team. In the second part, the climb continues for 600 meters to the summit, on complex mixed terrain, including ice, rock and loose snow. It took us four days to complete the ascent, climbing cleanly, without leaving anything on the wall. Another day was needed to complete the descent. It was certainly one of the most tiring expeditions ever. Not so much for the difficulties, but for the continuous up and down, in addition to the intense cold that we had to endure".
In these difficult environmental conditions the support of the equipment made available by Ferrino proved to be invaluable.
"During the expedition we had the opportunity to put our equipment to the test - explains Matteo - The two-person Blizzard tent by Ferrino with Dyneema base proved to be exceptional for technical mountaineering. It is very light and resistant, ideal for being carried in a backpack even on walls. Compared to similar models from competing companies, I particularly appreciated that this model is a few centimeters longer, which allows you to keep your boots and possibly your backpack inside. It is also high enough to sit without touching the ceiling. It is the tent that we took to the wall on Siula Grande and it was essential to have it because at night the temperature dropped to -20 degrees".
The feedback on the other two tents supplied was also very positive: "The single-layer Maverick 2, which I had already used in the past, proved to be an excellent product: it is very light and comfortable, you can even sleep three people if necessary and it is very wind resistant, with a roomy and comfortable apse for cooking. It is a hybrid model between a super light tent and an ultra-resistant and more spacious tent. A good compromise for certain climbs or advanced camps. The Trivor 2 was my home at base camp: it is quickly set up, resists atmospheric agents well and has two very comfortable apses for entering and exiting or storing material. In the many nights of torrential rain not a single drop of water got in".
The 40 + 5 liter Instinct backpack in Dyneema was instead on Matteo's shoulders during all phases of the climb and, in this case too, the feedback was more than positive: "I consider it a perfect backpack for mountaineering! Maximum lightness, but at the same time enough space to carry a lot of material. It proved to be very resistant to abrasion, since sometimes I recovered it on rocky terrain and it didn't get a scratch. I found the back and shoulder straps very comfortable even when fully loaded. The fact that you can remove the lumbar band is also very useful when you put on the harness and have to climb".
"We are really happy and proud for the success of Matteo and the SMAM group's expedition - comments Anna Ferrino, CEO of Ferrino - A beautiful adventure, accomplished in the best style, which highlights values that are dear to us such as team spirit and respect for the environment and which has given us a further opportunity to test our equipment in extreme conditions, with a view to constant improvement and research for innovative solutions".
