»Primus inter pares« – Reinhold Messner

Famous and inspiring: This exceptional mountain climber (born 1944) continues to fascinate even after the end of his active climbing career. The son of a teacher from Villnöss near Brixen/South Tyrol, Messner shaped the history of extreme climbing at the end of the 1960s as no other: In 1968, he and his brother Günther succeeded in the first ascent of the central pillar of the Heiligkreuzkofel, which is graded VIII today. A year later, he became the first person to do a solo climb of what was considered the most difficult ice route at the time, the north face of Les Droites, and of the “Philipp/Flamm” on the Civetta, then one of the most difficult rock faces in the Dolomites. In 1969, too, he tackled the direct south face on Marmolada di Rocca solo – a new outing to the Vinatzer route. In a nutshell, Messner was the world’s best climber at the time. And accordingly, he was invited on his first Himalaya expedition in 1970.

From a climber to a high-altitude mountaineer

Reinhold Messner’s name, nowadays, is mainly associated with his outstanding performance in the Himalayas. He was the first to conquer all 14 of the eight-thousanders, a feat he completed by 1986. The first ascent of Mount Everest together with Peter Habeler without bottled oxygen in the year 1978 made him world-famous. The same year, he achieved the first solo climb of an eight-thousander, the Nanga Parbat. In 1970, he had already conquered the Nanga Prabat without bottled oxygen together with his brother Günther, who was killed on the way down. At the Hidden Peak, in 1975, Messner – accompanied by Peter Habeler again – achieved the first ascent of an eight-thousander in Alpine style.

An adventurer by creed

Messner was one of the first mountaineering professionals. Yet, his mountain philosophy has always remained important to him. He always wanted to reach his goals “by fair means,” i.e., without artificial aids when rock-climbing, and without bottled oxygen when taking on high-altitude summits. For this “borderliner” (Messner on Messner) , the point was always to be exposed to nature. Because »for an adventure, you need to be dependent on yourself, you need exposure and difficulties. Without danger, no adventure«, says Messner.

Layers of commitment

Today, he lives and works in Meran. Summers he spends with his family in Juval Castle in the Vinschgau region. Messner is involved in both cultural as well as political matters and he does not shun controversial positions. Until 2005, he was a member of the European Parliament for the Green Party. Since 2003, he has devoted a great deal of energy to his latest big project, the Messner Mountain Museum (MMM) and his foundation, the Messner Mountain Federation (MMF).

Source: Der Bergsteiger

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