Reinhold Messner
At a glance:
- Series: Dictionary of World Biography: Twentieth Century
- Categories: Discovery, Exploration, Sports, Travel, Recreation
- Curriculum: Italian History, 20th & 21st Century European History
Article abstract: The first man to climb all fourteen mountains in the world over 8000 meters high, Messner revolutionized mountaineering through his advocacy of a climbing style that relied upon minimal equipment and his refusal to use bottled oxygen at high altitudes.
Early Life
Reinhold Messner—the son of Josef Messner (a schoolteacher) and Maria Troi—was born in the South Tyrol, a mountainous region in northern Italy. Always fascinated by mountains, Messner accompanied his parents and brother Helmut on the ascent of a 10,000-foot peak at the age...
[The entire page is 1997 words long]