Reinhold Messner

Reinhold Messner (born September 17, 1944) is an Italian mountaineer, often cited ^* 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).

Biography

Born in Brixen-Bressanone, South Tyrol (Italy) and a native speaker of German, Messner grew up climbing in the Alps. His first major Himalaya 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 which had become badly frostbitten during the climb.

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). He was also 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 duel 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.

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.

The fourteen 8,000+ peaks

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)
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)

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 Himalaya 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 0898865735
My Quest for the Yeti: Confronting the Himalayas' Deepest Mystery, ISBN 0312203942
The Second Death of George Mallory: The Enigma and Spirit of Mount Everest ISBN 0312270755

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.
In Jurassic Park, one of the hunters references Messner.

External links

Reinhold Messner homepage (In German)
Biography and material about Reinhold Messner

References