A 30 YEAR LONG ROUTE

In January 2025, Matteo Della Bordella is in Patagonia to coordinate the CAI Eagle Team project. The stated goal of his fifteenth expedition in the Argentine cordillera is to complete “Gringos Locos,” the legendary route that cuts through the heart of the formidable northeast face of Cerro Piergiorgio. The project, launched 30 years earlier in Alpine style by Maurizio Giordani and Luca Maspes, has remained unfinished. Due to strong wind gusts and snowstorms, the various climbing parties that have tackled this “smooth as a blackboard” granite over the years have had to submit to the supreme law of the uncertainty of the weather in Patagonia.

But Matteo is determined to complete the first ascent, starting from the 21 pitches (ranging in difficulty from 6a+ to 7b) completed by Giordani-Maspes over a total of five days in 1995—approximately 800 meters of the 1,000 meters of the face—requiring physical endurance and great mental strength. With him is the talented young mountaineer Dario Eynard, on his first climbing expedition outside Europe, and Mirco Grasso, the skilled Venetian climber who partnered with Matteo on some excellent repetitions in the previous weeks.

During the first two attempts, interrupted by two weeks of constant rain and winds of more than 100 kilometers per hour, the trio manages to climb the historic line created by the Italian climbers at the end of the century. After spending a few more days in El Chaltén, crossing their fingers in hopes of clear skies, the CAI Eagle Team has one last window of good weather left.

With just a few hours remaining before their scheduled return flight, Matteo, Mirco, and Dario manage to reach the crest of Piergiorgio after 23 consecutive hours of climbing, in very difficult conditions due to the unexpected late-summer cold. To reach the highest point of this landmark in the world of climbing (there is no real summit), the three connect the Giordani and Maspes “Gringos Locos” to “Via del Hermano” (six pitches, up to 6b+), opened by Barmasse and Brenna in 2008.

Thus, a circle that connects at least three generations of mountaineers is finally closed. The feat represents one of the greatest stories of an entire Patagonian season and is destined to nourish the dreams of the entire climbing community for decades to come.

This limited-edition T-shirt celebrates the 1,000-meter route that cuts across the spectacular smooth face of Cerro Piergiorgio, in the wild heart of Patagonia.

Every thread in this T-shirt — made of 100% organic cotton, in accordance with the “by fair means” style of Matteo and his companions — contains the strength of a dream that endured over time and the tenacity of a team that prevailed over long stretches of unfavorable weather. A story destined to nourish the future ambitions of the global community of climbers and non-climbers alike.