Matteo Della Bordella, 39, originally from Varese, lives in the Canavese region with his partner Arianna Colliard. He is an academic in mountaineering. Today, he tells Repubblica that “going to the mountains is always a compromise between daring and abandoning. If you don't dare, you won't go anywhere. But sometimes you can't go any further. You have to know how to give up, know how to calculate. This is one of the most fascinating things about mountaineering. » But above all he cares about the environment. Everest is submerged by the waste of hundreds of expeditions: cylinders, tents, abandoned equipment. “I believe in a more natural way of climbing, one that leaves no trace. I grew up with the idea that the less help and technology you have, the more validation you have of your climb and your experience, which is a direct comparison between you and the mountain. And then, the first time I found the compressor on my head…”.
Ropes, helicopters, drills
According to Della Bordella, “if we use fixed ropes, guides, helicopters, drills… So many mountains have been contaminated over time.” But they can be cleaned: “We do it with Massimo Faletti, in the Climb&Clean project. It is a transversal movement across the world. We do it on the cliffs, to involve more people. Otherwise it becomes an elitist thing, like mountains are. » Also because young mountaineers are “more extremist than me and my millennial generation, who have a feeling of rejection towards certain practices. A 25-year-old already thinks that you shouldn't take a plane to reach a place. I have my compromise: I burn my share of Co2 on the plane. After all, the Alps are now ruined by cable cars, huts, helicopters. The Himalayas? He's not in the right place. It is the mountain accessible to everyone, even to those who understand nothing, where all means are valid. Fortunately, only mountaineers go to Patagonia. »
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The article “Mountaineering pollutes and the Himalayas are a dump, but I'm going to clean it up” comes from Open.
