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“The true art of climbing is survival, and the point at
which this becomes difficult is when, having mastered what until
then has been considered the epitome of achievement, you try to go one stage
further.”
The most famous and influential mountaineer of the
modern era, in a 50-year climbing career Reinhold Messner
has established the standard by which all others are judged today. He is the first to climb Everest without using
supplementary oxygen, the first to climb Everest solo, and the first to climb all fourteen
of the world’s 8,000-meter peaks. Subsequently,
he became the third person to climb the “Seven Summits”, reaching the peak of
each of the highest mountains on the seven continents of earth. Not satisfied with these achievements, in recent
years he has turned his attention to the ends of the earth, traversing Greenland from top
to bottom, traveling with a single companion across the Antarctic continent via the South
Pole, and skiing across the frozen Arctic Ocean to the North Pole.
He has written some 30 books and achieved near film
star status in Germany, Italy and Austria. In
the summer, he lives in a castle in the South Tyrol with his partner, Sabina, and their
two children. Currently, he is a Member of
the European Parliament in Brussels.
In pushing back the limits of what was then
considered possible, Reinhold Messner has succeeded through a step-by-step accumulation of
experience, relying upon his immense self-confidence and bold execution of innovative
strategy. He survives by continually
questioning the “status quo” in devising new approaches.
His charismatic and engaging personal style make him
a captivating speaker, as he relates his amazing feats to the principles of human
achievement in any arena of endeavor. In
these times of global transition, he stresses the need for greater personal accountability
in modern life, the importance of taking more carefully considered risk, and the learning
that comes from every step forward into the unknown.
1950-64 |
Over 500 climbs in the eastern Alps,
mainly in the Dolomites;
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1965 |
Ortler North Face (Direttissima), 1st
ascent;
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1966 |
"Walker Spur", Grandes Jorasses;
Rocchetta Alta di Bosconero North Face, 2nd
ascent;
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1967 |
Civetta Northwest Face "Weg der
Freunde", 1st ascent; Agnér North Edge, 1st winter ascent; Furchetta North Face, 1st
winter ascent; Agnér Northeast Face, 1st ascent;
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1968 |
Agnér North Face, 1st winter ascent;
Eiger North Pillar, 1st ascent; Marmolata South Face (Direct.), 1st ascent;
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1969 |
Expedition in the Andes; Droites North
Face, 1st solo ascent; Marmolata di Rocca South Face (Direttissima), 1st solo ascent; Civetta,
"Philipp Flamm", 1st solo ascent;
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1970 |
Nanga Parbat (8125m) Rupal Side, 1st
ascent;
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1971 |
Expeditions in Nepal, Pakistan, Persia,
East Africa, New Guinea;
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1972 |
Manaslu (8156m) South Face, 1st ascent;
Noshaq (7492m), Hindu Kush;
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1973 |
Pelmo Northwest Face, 1st ascent;
Marmolata West Pillar, 1st ascent; Furchetta West Face, 1st ascent;
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1974 |
Aconcagua (6959m) South Face, 1st ascent;
Eiger North Face in 10 hours;
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1975 |
Hidden Peak (8068m) Northwest Face, 1st
ascent of an 8000-metre peak in alpine style;
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1976 |
Mount McKinley (6193m), "Wall of the
Midnight Sun", 1st ascent;
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1977 |
Failed on Dhaulagiri (8167m) South Face;
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1978 |
Mount Everest (8846m), 1st ascent without
oxygen; Nanga Parbat (8125m) Diamir Side, 1st solo ascent of an 8000-metre peak;
Kilimanjaro (5963m), "Breach Wall", 1st ascent;
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1979 |
K2 (8611m), 1st ascent in alpine style;
rescue operation on Ama Dablam ; Hoggar-expedition, Africa;
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1980 |
Mount Everest (8846m) North Side, 1st
solo ascent;
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1981 |
Shisha Pangma (8012m), Tibet; Chamlang
(7317m), North Face of the central summit, 1st ascent;
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1982 |
Kangchenchunga (8598m) North Face, 1st
ascent; Gasherbrum II (8035m) and Broad Peak (8048m) – first time that three
8000-metre peaks were climbed in one season; failed on Cho Oyu(8222m)in winter;
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1983 |
Cho Oyu (8222m) Southwest Side in alpine
style;
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1984 |
1st traverse of two 8000-metre peaks:
Gasherbrum I and Gasherbrum II;
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1985 |
Annapurna (8091m) Northwest Face, 1st
ascent; Dhaulagiri (8167m) Northeast Edge, in alpine style;
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1986 |
failed on Makalu (8485m) in winter;
expedition in eastern Tibet; ascent of Makalu (8485m), Lhotse (8511m) and Mount Vinson
(4897m, Antarctica);
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1987 |
Journey to Bhutan and the Pamirs;
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1988 |
Yeti-Tibet-expedition;
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1989 |
Failed on Lhotse (8511m) South Face;
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1989/90 |
Traversed Antarctica (via the South Pole)
on foot - 2800km;
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1991 |
Traversed Bhutan (east to west); hikes in
South Tyrol - 800km;
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1992 |
Ascent of Chimborazo (6310m), Ecuador;
crossed the Takla Makan desert (south to north), Sinkiang;
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1993 |
Journey to the Dolpo, Mustang and Manang
areas in Nepal; traversed Greenland (diagonal - from southeast to northwest on foot -
2200km;
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1994 |
Himalayan environmental trek to Gangotri
in India (Shivling 6543m); Ruwenzori (5119m), Uganda;
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1995 |
Failed on an attempt to traverse the
Arctic (Siberia to Canada); Belucha (4506m), Altai, Siberia;
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1996 |
Journey through East Tibet (Chengdu to
Lhasa) and to the Kailash;
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1997 |
Journey to Kham (eastern Tibet);
Karakorum-expedition; documentary on the Ol Doinyo Lengai in Africa (holy mountain of the
Massai);
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1998 |
Journey to the Altai Mountains (Mongolia)
and to Puna de Atacama (Andes);
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1999 |
Documentary on San Francisco Peaks, USA (holy mountain of the Navajos);
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2000 |
Retraced Shackleton’s historic steps
across South Georgia Island; Nanga-Parbat-expedition; Fujiama (documentary about the holy
mountain). |
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