63 Facts About Reinhold Messner

Reinhold Andreas Messner is an Italian mountaineer, explorer, and author from South Tyrol.

Reinhold Messner made the first solo ascent of Mount Everest and, along with Peter Habeler, the first ascent of Everest without supplemental oxygen.

Reinhold Messner was the first climber to ascend all fourteen peaks over 8,000 metres above sea level and he did it without supplementary oxygen.

Reinhold Messner is widely considered as the greatest mountaineer of all time.

From 1999 to 2004, Reinhold Messner served as a member of the European Parliament for north-east Italy, as a member of the Federation of the Greens.

Reinhold Messner has published more than 80 books about his experiences as a climber and explorer.

Reinhold Messner spent his early years climbing in the Alps and falling in love with the Dolomites.

Reinhold Messner's father was strict and sometimes severe with him.

Reinhold Messner led Reinhold to his first summit at the age of five.

When Reinhold Messner was 13, he began climbing with his brother Gunther, age 11.

Since the 1960s, Reinhold Messner, inspired by Hermann Buhl, was one of the first and most enthusiastic supporters of alpine style mountaineering in the Himalayas, which consisted of climbing with very light equipment and a minimum of external help.

Reinhold Messner considered the usual expedition style disrespectful toward nature and mountains.

In 1969, Reinhold Messner joined an Andes expedition, during which he succeeded, together with Peter Habeler, in making the first ascent of the Yerupaja east face up to the summit ridge and, a few days later, the first ascent of the 6,121-metre-high Yerupaja Chico.

Reinhold Messner made the first solo ascent of the Droites north face, the Philipp-Flamm intersection on the Civetta and the south face of Marmolada di Rocca.

In 1970, Reinhold Messner was invited to join a major Himalayan expedition that was going to attempt the unclimbed Rupal face of Nanga Parbat.

Reinhold Messner lost seven toes, which had become badly frostbitten during the climb and required amputation.

Reinhold Messner was severely criticized for persisting on this climb with the less experienced Gunther.

Reinhold Messner repeated the feat, without Habeler, from the Tibetan side in 1980, during the monsoon season.

In 1986, Reinhold Messner became the first to complete all fourteen eight-thousanders.

Reinhold Messner has crossed Antarctica on skis, together with fellow explorer Arved Fuchs.

Reinhold Messner has written over 80 books about his experiences, a quarter of which have been translated.

Reinhold Messner was featured in the 1984 film The Dark Glow of the Mountains by Werner Herzog.

Reinhold Messner was among the founders of Mountain Wilderness, an international NGO dedicated to the protection of mountains worldwide.

Reinhold Messner was the first person to climb all fourteen eight-thousanders in the world and without supplemental oxygen.

Reinhold Messner's climbs were all amongst the first 20 ascents for each mountain individually.

Reinhold Messner took a total of five expeditions to Nanga Parbat.

In May and June 1970, Reinhold Messner took part in the Nanga Parbat South Face expedition led by Karl Herrligkoffer, the objective of which was to climb the as yet unclimbed Rupal Face, the highest rock and ice face in the world.

Reinhold Messner arrived in the valley six days later with severe frostbite, but survived.

Reinhold Messner said his brother had been swept away by an avalanche.

Reinhold Messner therefore turned his attention to higher mountains, where there was much more ice.

On 9 August 1978, after three unsuccessful expeditions, Reinhold Messner reached the summit of Nanga Parbat again via the Diamir Face.

In 1972, Reinhold Messner succeeded in climbing Manaslu on what was then the unknown south face of the mountain, of which there were not even any pictures.

Shortly after Reinhold Messner reached the summit, the weather changed and heavy fog and snow descended.

Reinhold Messner himself was no longer in a position to help the search.

Reinhold Messner was later criticised for having allowed Jager go back down the mountain alone.

Together with Peter Habeler, Reinhold Messner made a second ascent of Gasherbrum I on 10 August 1975, becoming the first man ever to climb more than two eight-thousanders.

Reinhold Messner reached the summit again in 1984, this time together with Hans Kammerlander.

Reinhold Messner became emotional on camera when he recalled having to tell his mother about his brother's death.

Two years later, on 20 August 1980, Reinhold Messner again stood atop the highest mountain in the world, without supplementary oxygen.

Reinhold Messner decided spontaneously during the ascent to use this route to bypass the exposed northeast ridge.

For 1979, Reinhold Messner was planning to climb K2 on a new direct route through the South Face, which he called the "Magic Line".

In 1982, Reinhold Messner wanted to become the first climber ever to scale three eight-thousanders in one year.

Reinhold Messner was planning to climb Kangchenjunga, then Gasherbrum II and the Broad Peak.

Reinhold Messner chose a new variation of the route up the north face.

Reinhold Messner was suffering from amoebic liver abscess, making him very weak.

Reinhold Messner made it back to base camp only with Mutschlechner's help.

Reinhold Messner was cured of his amoebic liver abscess and then travelled to Gasherbrum II, but could not use the new routes as planned.

In early descriptions of the ascent, Reinhold Messner omitted this encounter, but he referred to it several years later.

Reinhold Messner had already attempted Dhaulagiri in 1977 and 1984, unsuccessfully.

Reinhold Messner climbed with Kammerlander up the normal route along the northeast ridge.

Reinhold Messner failed in 1974 and 1981 on the South Face of the south-east ridge.

In 1986, Reinhold Messner returned and succeeded in reaching the summit using the normal route with Kammerlander and Mutschlechner.

In 1989, Reinhold Messner led a European expedition to the South Face of the mountain.

Reinhold Messner suggested another list replacing Mount Kosciuszko with Indonesia's Puncak Jaya, or Carstensz Pyramid.

From a mountaineering point of view the Reinhold Messner list is the more challenging one.

In May 1986 Pat Morrow became the first person to complete the Reinhold Messner list, followed by Reinhold Messner himself when he climbed Mount Vinson in December 1986 to become the second.

Reinhold Messner is listed nine times in the Guinness Book of Records.

In 2003 Reinhold Messner started work on a project for a mountaineering museum.

In 1999, Reinhold Messner was elected Member of the European Parliament for the Federation of the Greens, the Italian green party, receiving more than 20,000 votes in the European election.

Reinhold Messner fully served his term until 2004, when he retired from politics.

Reinhold Messner was officially a member of South Tyrolean Greens, a regionalist and ecologist political party active only in South Tyrol, which de facto acts as a regional branch of the FdV.

From 1972 until 1977, Reinhold Messner was married to Uschi Demeter.

In late May 2021, Reinhold Messner married Diane Schumacher, a 41-year-old Luxembourgish woman living in Munich, at the town hall in Kastelbell-Tschars near his home in South Tyrol.