Reinhold Messner

Reinhold Messner is a famous climber and explorer from South Tyrol, Italy.

Many people call him the greatest mountaineer of all time. He loves the mountains and wants to climb them in a way that is fair to nature. He uses a method called alpine style. This means climbing with very light gear and almost no outside help. He does not like the old way of climbing, which he calls "siege tactics." That old way uses too much equipment and support. Messner wants to face the mountain just as it is.

Climbing in the high mountains is a very hard job. Messner often climbs without using extra oxygen from tanks. This is a big deal because the air is very thin high up. In 1978, he and Peter Habeler climbed Mount Everest without extra oxygen. Many doctors thought this was impossible to do. Later, in 1980, Messner climbed Everest alone from base camp to the top. He also became the first person to climb all fourteen "eight-thousanders." These are the fourteen tallest mountains on Earth that are over 8,000 metres high.

Messner's love for climbing started when he was a small child. He grew up in a family with nine children. His father took him to his first mountain summit when he was only five years old. When he was 13, he began climbing with his brother, Günther. They were both great climbers by the time they were in their twenties. In 1970, Messner went on a big trip to the Nanga Parbat mountain. It was a very sad time because his brother died during that climb. Messner also lost seven toes to frostbite during that journey.

Messner has traveled to many amazing places all over the world. He crossed Antarctica on skis with a friend named Arved Fuchs. He also walked across the huge Gobi Desert all by himself. In 1986, he finished climbing all the eight-thousanders. He has even climbed many mountains in the Andes and the Alps. He was very fast at climbing in the Alps too. He once climbed the Eiger North Wall in only ten hours.

Messner does much more than just climb mountains. He is a writer who has published more than 80 books. He also served in the European Parliament from 1999 to 2004. He helped start a group called Mountain Wilderness to protect mountains everywhere. He even started his own museum called the Messner Mountain Museum.

He has won many big prizes for his hard work. In 2010, he won the Piolet d'Or Lifetime Achievement Award. He is a true explorer who shares his stories with the world.