Mountaineering legend Reinhold Messner sharply criticizes the commercialization of mountain sports. He himself feels his age when he climbs a mountain today.
Munich – Reinhold Messner, probably the most famous mountaineer of our time, has created a monument to himself through his extraordinary achievements in mountaineering. In a recent interview, he once again voiced sharp criticism of the developments in modern mountaineering. At the Olympic climbing competitions, he “didn’t even look”, as he said in an interview with World said. Shortly before his 80th birthday, he is making a broad statement – and reporting on his recent mountaineering experiences.
“It wasn’t that bad with my legs”: Messner is still climbing mountains at almost 80 years old
“The mountaineer goes where no one else is,” says Messner, highlighting the fundamental difference between mountaineering and the increasingly popular sport climbing. He says: “It makes sense to go to the gym and climb there. But that’s not mountaineering, it’s sport.” The increasing popularity of sport climbing, especially in air-conditioned gyms with almost 100 percent safety, is not comparable, the 79-year-old said in an interview with the World.
| Name: | Reinhold Messner |
| Birth date: | 17 September 1944 |
| Place of birth: | Brixen (South Tyrol) |
| Political engagement: | Member of the European Parliament (1999-2004) |
| Most famous record: | Climbing Mount Everest without oxygen |
He hardly allows criticism of his own responsibility for the popularity of mountaineering. He was the first “to move away from the big expeditions” and “to shape a different kind of mountaineering”. From the outset, he criticized the form of “cumbersome, expensive, over-the-top mountaineering”, says Messner, who himself had to deal with an inheritance dispute with his family for a long time. Today, at almost 80 years of age, Messner is still active: he was recently on Kailash in Tibet, the holiest mountain in the world. The experience was a challenge: “It wasn’t so bad with the legs, but you’re panting like a hunting dog,” he reports.
Bayerischer Rundfunk plans special TV program for Messner’s 80th birthday
On the occasion of his 80th birthday, Bayerischer Rundfunk is dedicating an extensive TV program to Reinhold Messner. The first broadcast of the film “Reinhold Messner – my last challenge” in the series Lebenslinien will take place on September 16, 2024. The film offers an in-depth portrait of the famous mountaineer, including rarely shown film excerpts from the archives of BR and ARD.
The ARD is also launching the podcast “Messner – an extreme life”, which will be available in the ARD audio library from September 12, 2024. Four episodes tell the story of Reinhold Messner, who has built a life for himself for which there are no role models. The podcast sheds light on his self-imposed goals and his tireless search for meaning and purpose in mountaineering.
By the way: Recently there was also a stir about the revocation of Reinhold Messner’s Guinness Book records. The mountaineer spoke of “conspiracy theories”.
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