The climber of the «Ragni»: «Together with Korra Pesce at the top, then we parted ways. He was among the best, conquering Cerro our dream for years “
Thursday evening they were together on the summit of Cerro Torre. The most beautiful moment in their life as mountaineers. «We had opened two new routes on the mountain which is the symbol of Patagonia, the most difficult in the world, in alpine style, the maximum we could aspire to». Matteo Della Bordella he was in a consortium with two other “Ragni di Lecco”, Matteo “Giga” De Zaiacomo and David Bacci; Corrado «Korra» Pesce he was together instead with the Argentine Tomy Aguilo. They had been chasing this goal for years. For two days they climbed in parallel a few tens of meters, the last 300 meters they did it together. Then, after the conquest, they chose different paths. «Korra and Tomy climbed lightly to be able to descend immediately afterwards again from the north face. We had more equipment, to bivouac and come down the next day from the South. So we separated. ” This is the last time he saw Korra.
What did you say to each other?
“That we would meet again down at El Chaltén to celebrate.”
Pesce has never arrived, Aquilo is in the hospital, overwhelmed by a discharge of snow and stones.
Della Bordella, how are you feeling at this moment?
“I’m still in shock. It is incredible, the most beautiful moment of our life, the coincidence of being up there together, all swept away by this tragedy ».
Did you choose different strategies, was their descent more dangerous?
“They left at night precisely to minimize the risk. But there is always a percentage of unforeseen events and unfortunately he doesn’t look anyone in the face ».
What memories do you have of Korra?
“He was introverted, if you didn’t know him it wasn’t easy to bond with him. Always very direct, he said things to your face. And it was a quality, because he was honest. He loved the mountains, he did great things without seeking media hype, but among us we knew he was one of the best ».
When did you hear about the tragedy?
«Friday afternoon when after a long descent we arrived at the glacier at the base of Cerro and we met a team of climbers. Tomy had been located, wounded but had managed to descend to about 300 meters above the ground. Korra was more serious, he hadn’t been able to move and we had no news of his position ».
So she went up to help.
“I was the only one who knew that wall. After 4 days of climbing I was devastated, but I gathered my last strength and led the team. Four of us joined Tomy, then two brought him down. I stayed with the Swiss Roger Schali. We had only one rope, little material, it was madness to climb again in those conditions ».
So in the night you came down.
«We waited until 3, it was cold, there was a lot of wind. I started to have some blunders, not to feel my feet anymore, I had some strange music in my head, I realized that I could hardly take care of myself ».
Climbing Cerro Torre along the east face was not just a mountaineering feat for her. It was the project conceived with Matteo Bernasconi and Matteo Pasquetto, who died in two accidents in the mountains.
«I wanted to complete this climb for them too. Going up I relived the moments spent together, I imagined what they would have felt, it would have been the crowning achievement of our consortium ».
Did he bring anything of them to the top?
“Nuts, nuts for the Bern rock, and a particular Pasquetto carabiner”.
For those who are far from your world it is difficult to understand why you do this.
«We are aware of the risks we face. Of course, human life is the most important thing. But for me, it is also for Korra, this was the climb that gave meaning to our whole existence ».
Waiting for her in El Chantel was her partner Arianna with her two-year-old son Lio. What did he tell her?
“I told her what happened. She too is a mountaineer, she understands these moments well ».
You have called the new route you have opened «Brothers in arms».
«In honor of Bernasconi, Pasquetto, Korra and all our brothers who have passed away on the mountains we love so much».
January 31, 2022 (change January 31, 2022 | 22:04)
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