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famous mountaineers
Reinhold Messner Facts. Reinhold Messner (born 1944) is the first people ever to climb all 14 of the world's mountain peaks over 8,000 meters high. He has written over 30 books on his adventures, and his minimalist techniques have revolutionized Himalayan mountain climbing.
Internationally known mountain climber Reinhold Messner was born in the Tyrolean Alps in 1944, the second child in a family of eight brothers and one sister. He began climbing at a very early age, ascending his first mountain at the age of four with his father. In 1970 when he was 25 Messner climbed his first 8000 metre peak,Nanga Parbat in the Himalayas. Tragedy struck during the climb when Messner's brother Gunther was killed in an avalanche. Although Messner searched extensively for his brother, losing six toes to frostbite in the process, he never found him. Despite his great loss, he continued to climb, next summiting Manaslu in central Nepal.For Messner these early climbs were only the beginning of an incredible achievement—eventually, he would become the first person to climb all 14 of the world's peaks over 8,000 meters (26,246 feet). Above this altitude, the air is so thin that most people would die, or at best only live for a few hours, without supplemental oxygen. Messner's InnovationsAlthough Messner has become famous for climbing without the supplemental oxygen needed for the human brain to function properly at extreme elevations, his decision to climb this way was not the result of a deliberate decision. In 1972 he began dreaming of becoming the first person to climb the southwest face of Everest, but was beaten to it by another climber. Because this achievement was taken, Messner decided to become the first person to climb Everest without oxygen. Paul Deegan commented in Geographical,"In an instant … this brilliant mountaineer took the game of climbing one-upmanship to a new dimension. By doing so he would change the face of high-altitude climbing forever."Messner was responsible for other innovations in Himalayan climbing. Prior to his climbing career, mountaineers traditionally spent a great deal of time ascending, moving in stages from one camp to another and resting in between to allow their bodies to become used to the decreased levels of oxygen available at higher altitudes
Reinhold Messner
Reinhold
Massner