Reinhold Messner

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Reinhold Messner

Reinhold Messner in May 2004
Born:	September 17, 1944 Brixen-Bressanone, Italy
Occupation:	Mountaineer
Website:	www.reinhold-messner.de

Reinhold Messner (born September 17, 1944) is a mountaineer and explorer from South Tyrol in Italy, often cited [1] as the greatest mountain climber of all time, noted for making the first solo ascents of Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen and for being the first climber to ascend all fourteen "eight-thousanders" (peaks over 8,000 metres above sea level).

[edit] Biography

Born in Brixen-Bressanone, South Tyrol/Alto Adige (Italy) and a native speaker of German, he spent his early years climbing in the Alps, and fell in love with the Dolomites. His father, Josef Messner, was a teacher. He was also very strict and sometimes severe with Reinhold. Josef led Reinhold to his first summit at the age of five. Reinhold had two younger brothers: Günther and Hansjörg. When Reinhold was age 13, he began climbing with his brother Günther, age 11. By the time Reinhold and Günther were in their early twenties they were among Europe's best climbers. ^[1] Since the sixties, and inspired by Hermann Buhl, he was one of the first and more enthusiastic supporters of alpine style cleering consisted in climbing with very light equipment and a minimum of external help. Messner indeed considered the usual expedition style "siege tactics" disrespectful of nature and mountains.

His first major Himalayan climb in 1970, Nanga Parbat, turned out to be a tragic success. Both he and his brother Günther Messner reached the summit, but Günther died two days later on the descent. Reinhold lost seven of his toes and three fingers, which had become badly frostbitten during the climb and required amputation.

In 1980, Messner was the first person to ascend Mount Everest alone without supplementary oxygen. (Messner had done this earlier as part of a two-man team with Peter Habeler in 1978). In 1986 he also became the first to climb all fourteen eight-thousanders (peaks over 8,000 metres above sea level, sometimes referred to as Crown of the Himalayas), winning a contest with Jerzy Kukuczka. He has also made a solo ascent of the technically difficult Nanga Parbat. Messner has crossed Antarctica on skis with Arved Fuchs. He has written a number of books about his experiences, many available translated into English and other languages. He was featured in the 1984 film The Dark Glow of the Mountains by Werner Herzog.

His solo ascent of Everest, when no other climber was on the mountain, is regarded as a singular achievement, unlikely to be duplicated, since the mountain today is often climbed in groups and is relatively crowded with other aspiring climbers ascending simultaneously.

Messner today carries on a diversified business related to his mountaineering skills. From 1999 to 2004, he held political office as a Member of the European Parliament for the Italian Green Party (Federazione dei Verdi).

In 2004 he walked 2000 kilometres through the Gobi desert. He has now mainly devoted himself to the Messner Mountain Museum, a complex of museums, about several mountain-related themes, of which he is the founder.

[edit] The fourteen 8,000+ peaks

^{[citation needed]}

• 1970: Nanga Parbat (8125 m)
• 1972: Manaslu (8156 m)
• 1975: Gasherbrum I (Hidden Peak) (8068 m)
• 1977: Dhaulagiri (8167 m)
• 1978: Mount Everest (8846 m), Nanga Parbat (8125 m) (First ascent without supplementary oxygen)
• 1979: K2 (8611 m)
• 1980: Mount Everest (8846 m) (First person to ascend alone and without supplementary oxygen)
• 1981: Shisha Pangma (8012 m)
• 1982: Kanchenjunga (8598 m), Gasherbrum II (8035 m), Broad Peak (8048 m), Cho Oyu (8201 m - summit attempt during winter failed)
• 1983: Cho Oyu (8201 m)
• 1984: Gasherbrum I (8068 m) and Gasherbrum II (8035 m) at one time without returning to basecamp
• 1985: Annapurna (8091 m), Dhaulagiri (8167 m)
• 1986: Makalu (8485 m), Lhotse (8516 m)

[edit] Selected bibliography

• The Crystal Horizon: Everest - The First Solo Ascent (an account of his solo climb of Everest)
• All Fourteen 8,000ers (an account of all his 8,000-meter mountain ascents)
• The Naked Mountain (an account of his first major Himalayan climb and the death of his brother)
• The Big Walls: From the North Face of the Eiger to the South Face of Dhaulagirl (a list and discussion of the major wall climbs in the world)
• Free Spirit : A Climber's Life ISBN 0-89886-573-5
• My Quest for the Yeti: Confronting the Himalayas' Deepest Mystery, ISBN 0-312-20394-2
• The Second Death of George Mallory: The Enigma and Spirit of Mount Everest ISBN 0-312-27075-5

[edit] Trivia

• The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner, is a 1999 album by music group Ben Folds Five. Their drummer Darren Jessee unwittingly used Reinhold Messner's name on a fake ID as a teenager. The loose concept album has no relation to the real life character; it deals more with mundane topics in the life of a mediocre, even failed, American man. Messner later told the band that he liked the album.
• In The Lost World: Jurassic Park, one of the hunters references Messner.

[edit] External links

• Official site (German)
• Biography and material about Reinhold Messner
• Everest Unmasked: First Ascent of Everest without Supplemental Oxygen - 1978

[edit] Footnotes

1. ^ Alexander, Caroline. "Murdering the Impossible", National Geographic, November, 2006.

[edit] References

• Wetzler, Brad. "Reinhold Don't Care What You Think", Outside Magazine, October 2002.