Reinhold Messner
Reinhold Messner (born 17 September 1944) is an Italian mountaineer, explorer, and author from South Tyrol renowned for his pioneering ascents of the world's highest peaks without supplemental oxygen.[1][2] Messner achieved the first ascent of Mount Everest without bottled oxygen alongside Peter Habeler in 1978, followed by a solo summit of the mountain via a new route in 1980, both feats accomplished during challenging monsoon conditions.[3][4] He became the first individual to summit all fourteen eight-thousanders—the peaks exceeding 8,000 meters in elevation—without supplementary oxygen, completing the endeavor in 1986 with the ascent of Lhotse.[5][6] Beyond mountaineering, Messner traversed Antarctica and the Gobi Desert on foot, authored numerous books on his expeditions, and served one term as a Member of the European Parliament for the Greens from 1999 to 2004, focusing on environmental and peace initiatives.[1][7]Early Life
Upbringing in South Tyrol
Reinhold Messner was born on 17 September 1944 in Brixen (Bressanone), a German-speaking town in South Tyrol, northern Italy, during the final months of World War II.[1][8] He was the second of nine children—eight boys and one girl—in a family led by his father, Josef Messner, a village schoolteacher who had served on the Russian front and returned to a strict, disciplinarian household influenced by the post-war Alpine rural life.[1][8][9] His mother, Maria Troi, supported the large family in the isolated, mountainous setting of the Dolomites, where economic hardships and the region's integration into Italy after its annexation from Austria-Tyrol fostered a resilient, self-reliant ethos.[8] The family relocated to the remote Villnöss Valley (Funes), near Brixen, where Messner spent his formative years amid jagged peaks and limited infrastructure, immersing in the German-Tyrolean culture amid Italy's Italianization policies.[1][10][9] Josef Messner's enthusiasm for mountaineering directly shaped his children's early exposure; at age five in 1949, Messner climbed his first 3,000-meter summit, Sass Rigas in the Dolomites, guided by his father using basic ropes and minimal gear typical of local alpine traditions.[2][1] This outing marked the beginning of routine family excursions into the surrounding ranges, building physical endurance and a profound connection to the terrain.[11][2] By his early teens, Messner, alongside siblings including younger brother Günther born in 1946, tackled challenging Dolomite routes, honing skills in free climbing and route-finding without supplemental oxygen or modern aids, reflective of the valley's demanding environment and paternal emphasis on self-reliance.[1][12] The upbringing instilled a utilitarian view of mountains as both livelihood and challenge, amid a community where herding, forestry, and seasonal tourism supplemented farming, preparing Messner for the risks inherent in high-altitude pursuits.[9][11]Education and Initial Climbing Experiences
Messner was born on September 17, 1944, in Brixen, South Tyrol, and grew up in the nearby Villnöss valley, where his father, a schoolteacher, introduced him to mountaineering at an early age.[1] By age five, he had climbed his first 3,000-meter peak with his father, marking the beginning of extensive family outings in the Dolomites and Eastern Alps.[2] Throughout his childhood and adolescence, Messner balanced farm work on the family chicken operation with public schooling, dedicating free time to honing climbing skills, including a free solo ascent of a challenging route at age fourteen.[8] In the early 1960s, Messner pursued higher education, enrolling around 1967 at the University of Padua to study engineering, with emphases variously described as civil, structural, building, surveying, or architectural.[12] [10] [13] He earned a degree in the field but prioritized climbing during academic breaks and much of his time there. Following graduation, Messner briefly worked as a mathematics teacher at a secondary school before committing fully to mountaineering.[2] [12] Messner's initial climbing experiences centered on the Dolomites, where between 1960 and 1964 he completed over 500 ascents, often with siblings including his brother Günther.[12] These efforts built his technical proficiency in rock climbing and alpine routes, culminating in his first major first ascent in 1965—a new direct route on the north face of the Ortler mountain.[12] By the late 1960s, he was pioneering bold, onsight free climbs without bolts, such as a 1968 route rated at modern 7b (approximately 5.12a) on the Second Sella Tower with Günther, emphasizing minimal aid and natural protection like slings and pitons.[12] These early feats in the Alps established Messner as a prodigious talent focused on speed, self-reliance, and ethical ascent styles.[1]Mountaineering Career
Early Alpine Climbs and Development
Messner's early climbing focused on the Eastern Alps, especially the Dolomites near his South Tyrolean home, where he completed around 500 tours between 1950 and 1964, building foundational skills in rock and ice climbing under his father's guidance.[12] These experiences emphasized self-reliance and progression from guided family ascents to independent routes, fostering endurance and technical proficiency on varied terrain.[2] His breakthrough came in 1965 with the first ascent of a direttissima route on the north face of the Ortler (3,906 m) via the ice ridge known as the "Eiswulst," marking his initial major pioneering effort on a high Alpine peak.[2][12] In 1966, Messner ascended the Walker Pillar on the north face of the Grandes Jorasses and repeated the north face of Rocchetta Alta di Bosconero, demonstrating growing mastery of steep mixed faces.[2] That same year, he tackled the Central Pillar of Freney on the Mont Blanc massif, a notoriously difficult granite spire requiring advanced free-climbing techniques amid objective hazards like rockfall and weather.[14] By the late 1960s, Messner had established himself among Europe's elite alpinists through bold, bolt-free free ascents and solos in the Dolomites, including groundbreaking 5.10-grade routes as a teenager, which prioritized ethical "fair means" over aid climbing.[15] This period honed his alpine-style approach—lightweight, fast ascents with minimal gear and no fixed protection—contrasting heavier siege tactics and preparing him for high-altitude expeditions by integrating speed, risk assessment, and physiological adaptation.[12] Frequent partnerships, notably with brother Günther, refined teamwork under duress while rejecting artificial aids, aligning with a philosophy of confronting mountains on their terms.Himalayan Expeditions in the 1970s
Messner's first Himalayan expedition targeted Nanga Parbat (8,126 m) in 1970 as part of a German-led team under Karl Herrligkoffer, attempting the unclimbed Rupal Face, the world's highest mountain wall at approximately 4,500 m. On June 27, Reinhold and his brother Günther Messner reached the summit via this south face route, achieving the first ascent of the Rupal Face and the first crossing to the unclimbed Diamir (north) face on descent. Günther perished during the descent, likely from exhaustion or avalanche, while Reinhold suffered severe frostbite, resulting in the amputation of four toes on his right foot.[16][17][1] In 1972, Messner joined a Tyrolean expedition led by Wolfgang Nairz to Manaslu (8,163 m), succeeding in the first ascent of its southwest face without supplemental oxygen on April 25, a milestone verified by records of the era's high-altitude feats. The climb involved establishing camps up to 7,400 m, but a storm claimed the lives of teammates Franz Jäger and Andi Schlick near the summit plateau.[18][19] Messner and Peter Habeler pioneered a new approach on Gasherbrum I (8,080 m), known as Hidden Peak, in 1975 by completing the first alpine-style ascent of any 8,000 m peak—without fixed ropes, porters above base camp, or supplemental oxygen—via a northwest route to the summit on August 10. This two-man effort, relying solely on lightweight gear and rapid acclimatization, marked a shift from siege-style tactics to fair-means climbing on extreme altitudes.[20][21] The decade culminated in two groundbreaking 1978 ascents. First, Messner soloed Nanga Parbat without prior acclimatization or oxygen, reaching the summit on August 9 via the Diamir face, the first solo climb of an 8,000 m peak. Later that year, on May 8, he and Habeler summited Everest (8,848 m) via the standard southeast ridge without supplemental oxygen, the first verified no-oxygen ascent, enduring extreme fatigue but confirming human physiological limits at that altitude.[22][2]Key Achievements in the 1980s
In 1980, Messner achieved the first solo ascent of Mount Everest via the north face, without supplemental oxygen, reaching the summit on August 20 after starting from the North Col with minimal gear.[2][3] In 1981, he summited Shishapangma, one of the remaining eight-thousanders, and made the first ascent of Chamlang's central summit's north face.[2] The year 1982 marked a milestone when Messner became the first climber to summit three eight-thousanders in a single season: Kangchenjunga via a new route on its north face, Gasherbrum II, and Broad Peak, all without bottled oxygen; a winter attempt on Cho Oyu failed.[2][23] In 1983, Messner ascended Cho Oyu in alpine style via the southwest face.[2] During 1984, he completed the first double traverse of two eight-thousanders, summiting Gasherbrum I and Gasherbrum II without oxygen.[2] In 1985, Messner pioneered the northwest face route on Annapurna and climbed Dhaulagiri via the northeast spur in alpine style, both feats accomplished without supplemental oxygen.[2] The pinnacle of the decade came in 1986 when Messner summited Makalu and Lhotse, thereby becoming the first person to climb all fourteen eight-thousanders, achieving this entirely without the use of supplemental oxygen over sixteen years.[2][1]Seven Summits and Post-8000er Climbs
Messner advocated for a version of the Seven Summits challenge that prioritized technical difficulty and geographical representation, substituting Indonesia's Carstensz Pyramid (4,884 m) for Australia's Mount Kosciuszko as Oceania's highest peak and selecting Russia's Mount Elbrus (5,642 m) for Europe over Mont Blanc.[24] His ascents of these peaks occurred over more than a decade: Carstensz Pyramid on September 27, 1971; Aconcagua (6,961 m, South America) in 1974; Denali (6,190 m, North America) on June 12, 1976; Kilimanjaro (5,895 m, Africa) via the Breach Wall on January 31, 1978; Mount Elbrus on August 5, 1983; Mount Everest (8,849 m, Asia) on May 8, 1978 (without supplemental oxygen); and Vinson Massif (4,892 m, Antarctica) on December 3, 1986.[25][26] The Vinson Massif ascent marked Messner's completion of the Seven Summits under his criteria, making him the second person to achieve this after Canadian climber Pat Morrow in May 1986.[27] This feat came just weeks after Messner's October 16, 1986, summit of Lhotse (8,516 m), which completed his oxygen-free traversal of all fourteen eight-thousanders.[8] Unlike Richard Bass's earlier 1985 completion of an alternative list featuring Kosciuszko, Messner's version emphasized alpinistic challenge over mere elevation, aligning with his philosophy of pure mountaineering without fixed ropes or large support teams on several routes.[28] Following the eight-thousanders, Messner's high-altitude pursuits shifted from summiting to exploratory traversals and leadership roles in expeditions, with Vinson serving as his final major continental summit. In 1989, he led a European team to attempt the South Face of an unnamed high peak, though it did not result in a new summit for him.[1] Thereafter, he undertook non-summit-focused endeavors, including a 1989–1990 man-hauling crossing of Antarctica and a Greenland icecap traversal, prioritizing endurance over vertical gain.[29] These efforts reflected a deliberate pivot from competitive peak-bagging to broader polar and desert explorations, such as the Gobi Desert crossing, underscoring his evolution beyond traditional Himalayan climbing.[30]Records and Innovations
Oxygen-Free Ascents
Reinhold Messner advanced high-altitude mountaineering by demonstrating the feasibility of ascending peaks above 8,000 meters without supplemental oxygen, challenging prevailing views on human physiological limits at extreme altitudes. In 1975, he and Peter Habeler completed the first alpine-style ascent of Gasherbrum I (8,080 m) without bottled oxygen, marking an early milestone in lightweight, self-sufficient climbing on an eight-thousander.[6] On May 8, 1978, Messner and Habeler achieved the first verified ascent of Mount Everest (8,848 m) without supplemental oxygen, via the Southeast Ridge from the South Col, reaching the summit between 1 and 2 p.m. after starting from the South Col at approximately 8,000 meters. This accomplishment, long deemed impossible by many physiologists due to risks of cerebral and pulmonary edema from severe hypoxia, was substantiated by the climbers' detailed accounts, post-climb medical evaluations, and Messner's book documenting the expedition.[31][1] Messner further innovated with a solo ascent of Everest on August 20, 1980, without oxygen, pioneering a new route up the North Face and North Col during the monsoon season, climbing from base camp to summit in alpine style over several days. This feat, conducted without fixed ropes or support teams beyond base camp logistics, underscored his emphasis on minimal artificial aid and personal endurance, though it drew skepticism from some contemporaries regarding summit verification amid poor weather.[32] Messner's commitment extended to completing all fourteen eight-thousanders without supplemental oxygen, a distinction he holds as the first to achieve, spanning expeditions from the 1970s through 1986, prioritizing routes that tested unassisted human capability over siege-style tactics with porters and oxygen.[1]Completion of All Fourteen Eight-Thousanders
Reinhold Messner achieved the historic feat of summiting all fourteen eight-thousanders—the world's peaks exceeding 8,000 meters in elevation—on October 16, 1986, with his ascent of Lhotse, without using supplemental oxygen on any of the climbs.[2][33] This accomplishment, spanning from his first eight-thousander in 1970 to the final one in 1986, marked him as the first individual to complete the set, emphasizing alpine-style techniques with small teams or solo efforts rather than large expeditions reliant on fixed ropes and bottled oxygen.[1] Messner's project involved pioneering routes and traverses, such as the first alpine-style ascent of Gasherbrum I in 1975 with Peter Habeler and a double traverse of Gasherbrum I and II in 1984 with Hans Kammerlander.[2] Key ascents in the 1980s leading to completion included Cho Oyu in 1983, Annapurna and Dhaulagiri in 1985 via their north faces and northeast spur respectively, Makalu in 1986, and finally Lhotse.[2][6] The following table summarizes Messner's first ascents of each eight-thousander:| Peak | Year | Height (m) | Notable Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nanga Parbat | 1970 | 8,125 | Rupal face with Günther Messner |
| Manaslu | 1972 | 8,156 | South face |
| Gasherbrum I | 1975 | 8,068 | Northwest face, alpine style with Habeler |
| Everest | 1978 | 8,848 | Without oxygen with Habeler |
| K2 | 1979 | 8,611 | Alpine style |
| Shishapangma | 1981 | 8,012 | |
| Kangchenjunga | 1982 | 8,586 | North face |
| Gasherbrum II | 1982 | 8,034 | |
| Broad Peak | 1982 | 8,051 | |
| Cho Oyu | 1983 | 8,188 | Southwest face, alpine style |
| Annapurna | 1985 | 8,091 | Northwest face |
| Dhaulagiri | 1985 | 8,167 | Northeast spur, alpine style |
| Makalu | 1986 | 8,485 | |
| Lhotse | 1986 | 8,516 | Completion of the set |