Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
REINHOLD MESSNER
The man invariably venerated as the greatest mountaineer of them all, Reinhold Messner, is an Italian
(albeit a German-speaking one) from the Alto Adige town of Bressanone (Brixen).
Messner grew up surrounded by the sharp, seductive peaks of the Dolomites. Scaling his first Alpine
summit at the age of five, by his early 20s he was recognised as a rising star in the tough world of
mountaineering. Derisive of the siege tactics employed by traditional Himalayan expeditions in the
1960s, Messner advocated a simpler Alpine-style approach to climbing that emphasised fast ascents
with minimal equipment. By the '70s he had set his sights on Everest, confidently announcing his ambi-
tion to climb the mountain 'by fair means', that is, without supplementary oxygen.
The prophecy was heroically fulfilled in 1978 when Messner and Austrian Peter Habeler became the
first men to summit the world's tallest peak without oxygen tanks, a feat that was considered physically
impossible, if not suicidal, at the time. Unsatisfied with his team effort, Messner returned two years
later and hacked his way up the mountain's north face to the summit, alone - a superhuman achieve-
ment.
The iron-willed Messner logged another record in 1986 when, at 42, he became the first person to
scale all eight-thousanders (the 14 mountains in the world over 8000m). Shunning a well-earned retire-
ment, he also took part in the first unassisted crossing of Antarctica.
These days Messner treks at a gentler pace, mainly in his home Dolomites. A retired Euro MP for the
Italian Green Party, he now also tends to his quintet of museums that explore mountain life across the
world.
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Alpe di Siusi &
Parco Naturale
Sciliar-Catinaccio
There are few more jarring or beautiful juxtapositions than the undulating green pastures of
the Alpe di Siusi - Europe's largest plateau - ending dramatically at the base of the tower-
ing Sciliar Mountains. To the southeast lies the jagged Catinaccio range, its German name
'Rosengarten' an apt description of the eerie pink hue given off by the mountains' dolomite
rock at sunset. The two areas are protected in the Parco Naturale Sciliar-Catinaccio. Sign-
posted by their onion-domed churches, the villages that dot the gentle valleys - including
Castelrotto
(Kastelruth),
Fiè allo Sciliar
(Völs am Schlern) and
Siusi
- are lovingly maintained
and unexpectedly sophisticated.
Activities
