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'Reinhold Messner' (born September 17 1944) is a mountaineer and explorer from South Tyrol in Italy, 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).

Contents

Biography

The fourteen 8,000+ peaks

Selected bibliography

No Relation to "The Unauthorized Biography"

References

Footnotes

External links

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 mountaineering in the Himalayas, which consisted of climbing with very light equipment and a minimum of external help. Messner considered the usual expedition style ("siege tactics"), disrespectful towards 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 toes and three fingers, which had become badly frostbitten during the climb and required amputation.
In the 1970s, Messner championed the cause for ascending Mount Everest without supplementary oxygen, saying that he would do it "by fair means" or not at all.^[2] In 1978, he summited Everest with Peter Habeler.^[2] He later summited Everest on the Tibetan side in 1980. This was the first time anyone had been that high without bottled oxygen and Messner and Habeler proved what most doctors, specialists, and mountaineers thought impossible. It changed mountaineering forever.
In 1986, Messner became the first to climb all fourteen eight-thousanders (peaks over 8,000 metres above sea level.^[4] 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.
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.

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 (8848 m), Nanga Parbat (8125 m) (First ascent without supplementary oxygen)

★ 1979: K2 (8611 m)

★ 1980: Mount Everest (8848 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 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

No Relation to "The Unauthorized Biography"

The band Ben Folds Five recorded a 1999 album titled ''The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner''. The album bears no relation to the real Messner, and the band reportedly did not know of his existence when they chose the title. The drummer, Darren Jessee, claims the name was commonly used on fake IDs in his hometown when he was a teenager.[1] Other sources attest that the band knew who Messner was, but agree that the name has nothing to do with the album's content.[2] Messner has told the band he likes the album.

References

★ Reinhold Don't Care What You Think Brad Wetzler

★ Krakauer, Jon. ''Into Thin Air''. United States of America: Random House, 1996.

Footnotes

1. Murdering the Impossible Caroline Alexander
2. Krakauer 153
3. Krakauer 153
4. Krakauer 61

External links

★ Official site

★ Biography and material about Reinhold Messner

★ 'Everest Unmasked:''' First Ascent of Everest without Supplemental Oxygen - 1978