Reinhold Messner

Convinced that the impossible is just something that hasn't been done yet, Reinhold Messner has changed the way we conceive the mountains and the very high altitudes. Nicknamed "the king of the Eight-Thousanders", his is a life made of extreme records. He was the first to surpass the sixth grade in climbing and the first to complete the ascent of the 14 highest mountains on Earth, thanks to an extraordinary determination and desire to test himself. His philosophy has always pushed him one step further, in search of something new and never achieved before. Thus in 1978 he reached the summit of Everest without using oxygen tanks and in the same way he chose to tackle Nanga Parbat alone, the mountain to which his name will forever be linked. Born in Bressanone, he has over 100 expeditions and 3,500 ascents behind him, of which about 100 were absolute firsts. A master of exploration, both vertical and horizontal, he is the most famous and renowned mountaineer on an international level. After his exploration activity, in his mature age he reinvented himself as a politician and entrepreneur.

1970 – On June 27, together with his brother Günther, he reaches the summit of Nanga Parbat, his first eight-thousander.
1978 – On May 8, together with Peter Habeler, he reaches the summit of Everest without using oxygen tanks
1984 – between 25 and 28 June, together with Hans Kammerlander, links Gasherbrum II and Gasherbrum I
1986 – On October 16, together with Hans Kammerlander, he reaches the summit of Lhotse, becoming the first man to have climbed all 14 eight-thousanders.
1990 – Together with Arved Fuchs he crosses Antarctica on foot passing through the South Pole without the aid of motorized vehicles or animals
2004 – Crosses the Gobi Desert on foot
2006 – The first Messner Mountain Museum opens
2010 – he was awarded the highest mountaineering recognition in the world, the Piolet d'Or for his career.