Reinhold Messner on Nanga Parbat: Exclusive Interview

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The whole interview you will see in the upcoming movie about the third step of Freeride in the Death Zone project this Autumn — the ascending and skiing from Nanga Parbat 8-thousander. 

What do you feel about Nanga Parbat?

Nanga Parbat is in my mind, I don’t have to see it, and Nanga Parbat is special, because it is a unique mountain. It stands alone in the knee of the Indus River; the altitude from Indus to the summit is 7 thousand meters, — no other mountain has this altitude from base to summit.

And its history is very interesting, because the first attempt in the 8-thousand-meter peak was done here in 1895 by Albert F. Mummery — on this site —and afterwards, in the 1930-s, there were big tragedies on the Rakhiot side. And later the mountain was climbed and conquered, and I think that the history of Nanga Parbat is the strongest history of all 8-thousand meters’ peaks.

It’s not most difficult peak, on the sides of all it is hard but possible, Buhl ascended very-very long during first ascent. The Rupal Face is difficult, I did it a few times, but anyway mountain is climbed in last decades many times.

Please, name your 3 favorite things in the mountains?

I did many books, 15 books I have written, where I told more or less all that I know about mountaineering. My key mountain Is Nanga Parbat because I had here a big tragedy in 1970*, I did a solo ascent in 1978, I came back a few times, for filming there — and this time we do filming also, I did a charity foundation to Nanga Parbat for building up the schools for the local people because they are so pour. And I still enjoy to come back — not every year, but often.

***

And for Reinhold Messner it is really special summit. In 1970 Messner with his brother Günther make the first traverse of the Nanga Parbat with the first ascent of the Rupal Face. It was a real tragedy, when during descent Günther was killed in an avalanche on the Diamir Face. In 2005 his remains were found there.

More about Freeride in the Death Zone porject you can find by the link.