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Reinhold Messner (1944 - )
Reinhold Messner is a name that is famous around the world, both within the field of mountaineering and outside of it. His power comes from an inside source - perhaps it is his self-assurance that draws people to him, or perhaps it is that the man who pushes the limits of the impossible intrigues people. Nena Holguin, a friend of Reinhold's, speaks of a "compelling force, something inside him that you cannot separate from him" which gives him his power, something that has always been with him.
Reinhold was born on the 17th of September 1944. He was born in St Peter, a small village in the south Tyrol. His father, Josef Messner, was the headmaster of the local school. Both his father and his mother, Maria, were amateur mountain climbers. He had seven brothers and one sister. As a child, he was stubborn and had an explosive temper. This temper flared out of him on more than one occasion and once, the boy who was the target of his wrath was so severely injured that a doctor had to be called.
His interest in mountain climbing began at a young age. When he was five, he went with his parents to climb a local mountain. In his early teens, Reinhold grew less enchanted by religion, and more interested in climbing. In those days, he sat in church and imagined out climbing routes over the pillars and cornices. His parents encouraged him, but believed it was only a passing interest. His brother Günther was also interested in climbing.
At fourteen, he left the village school and went to the nearby high school in Bolanzo. He wrote many articles for his school paper about mountain climbing, including one called "The Murder of the Impossible". This article spoke of those climbers who were using bolts to assist their climbing. He wrote, "'Impossible': it doesn't exist any more," and added that many climbers had foreseen this turn of events, "but they went on drilling … until they lost the taste for climbing: why dare, why gamble, when you can proceed in perfect safety?" Reinhold's disgust with people who used artificial aids to aid their climbing grew stronger as he grew older, and he did not seek to hide his contempt, stating in 1978 that those who used these aids were "lowering the summit to themselves" rather than climbing to the top. He claimed that the real power of mountain climbing lay in the challenge. Many people argued with this belief, saying that Reinhold was simply risking his life unnecessarily. A story by Clive James slighted Reinhold's achievements, saying of his solo climb of Everest: "… he [Reinhold] and his friends had proved that it is not enough to risk your neck. It is in the nature of man to risk his brains as well." Reinhold simply ignored the critics and continued to climb, showing his power over those who called his accomplishments nothing.
In his late teens, Reinhold decided to become an architect, and he enrolled at Padua University in 1967. This was so that he could make a living if mountain climbing ever failed him.
When Reinhold was 26, he and Günther joined an expedition that was headed for Nanga Parbat - the world's third highest peak. Reinhold and Günther reached the top of the mountain, but Günther was killed in an avalanche on the descent. Reinhold suffered frostbite on this climb and lost six toes due to it, but this did not affect his balance. After he recovered, he wrote of why he survived, " … a man's will can stop rocks breaking away or hinder the passage of avalanches," and adding that if a man "knew himself" he was more likely to survive. It was indeed his will that kept him alive, the most powerful part of his character.
Reinhold was married in 1972, to a woman named Uschi von Keinlen. The marriage ended, and they were finally divorced under amicable conditions in 1977.
In 1978, Reinhold accomplished a world first, along with fellow climber Peter Habeler. The two men climbed the world's highest peak, Mt Everest, with no oxygen tank support. Later, a documentary, Everest Unmasked, said this of Reinhold's climb: "Reinhold made it to the top … Reinhold's achievement could not be gainsaid."
Reinhold returned again to Nanga Parbat to attempt a solo climb later in 1978. During his climb, he felt the presence of a second climber with him, who gave him directions but was not visible.
After this successful climb, his obsession with mountaineering grew famous, and he was highly demanded for lectures and interviews. During this time, a reporter asked him, "Are you sure you are not mad?" To this, Reinhold replied "I don't think so but you are entitled to your opinion." This showed Reinhold's self-certainty and his acknowledgment that what he was doing seemed crazy to others.
In 1980, Reinhold was the first to climb Mt Everest alone and unsupported by oxygen tanks. This is arguably the most remarkable feat of mountaineering ever achieved. He began the climb on August 17th and it took him four days to reach the top and return to the base camp. During this climb, the feeling that a second person was climbing with him again bothered him. However, he reached the summit with little trouble, and stayed there for an hour. He later said, "I felt very quiet, very tired … I had no fear about getting down. It was very peaceful." On his way down, he was starved of oxygen and utterly exhausted. When he finally reached his base camp, he was delirious, but he felt that he had achieved his highest ambition. He felt, even through his sickness, as if he were the most powerful man on Earth - he had reached the highest point, unaided, and returned to tell the tale.
After this, the most major conquest of his career, he refused to settle down. He kept on climbing, finally becoming the first man to climb all fourteen of the world's mountains that are over 8000 metres in height.
Reinhold Messner's power lies not only in his accomplishments, but also in the example he sets for others. The man who reaches the world's highest positions on his own strength captures people's imagination. He claims that "I did it only for me", and one realises that this is his deeper reason. The power of being one of the select few who can push themselves to these extreme physical limits is what pushes him to succeed. He enjoys climbing mountains, because it gives him a hold over himself, and it is what he does best. This can best be expressed in his own words that he thought to himself during his solo climb of Nanga Parbat: "What am I doing here?" Am I trying to escape from myself, cheat death, provoke fate, catch fame? No, none of this. I'm here because this is what I do best."
Bibliography
1. Faux, R., 1982, High Ambition: A Biography of Reinhold Messner, St Edmundsbury Press, Great Britain
2. Messner, R., 1971, The Murder of the Impossible (English translation from Mountain No. 15)
3. Messner, R., 1979, Everest: Expedition to the Ultimate, Kaye & Ward Ltd
(original German language version: 1978, Everest - Expedition zum Endpunkt, BLV, Munich)