Mountaineer, outstanding explorer, traveler, and one of the most successful alpinists in the world – the first conqueror of the Crown of the Himalayas and the Karakoram, recipient of the GOLDEN ICE-AXE for his lifetime achievements.
He was born on September 17, 1944, in Bressanone, South Tyrol, Italy.
An outstanding explorer, traveler, and one of the world’s most decorated mountaineers – the first to conquer the Crown of the Himalayas and the Karakoram. He completed his summit collection in 1986, a process that took 16 years.
He climbed his first three-thousander with his father when he was five years old.
After completing his engineering studies, he taught high school briefly before devoting himself entirely to the mountains and travel.
He has made approximately 100 first ascents, participated in over 3,500 mountain expeditions, and walked across Antarctica, Greenland, Tibet, the Gobi Desert, and the Taklamakan Desert.
For over 20 years, he was involved in the creation of the Messner Mountain Museums (MMM) and his foundation (MMF), which supports mountaineers worldwide.
He is a mountain purist – during expeditions, he values observation and exploration, and is a minimalist when it comes to equipment, communication, and technological innovations. During his travels, he values close, undisturbed contact with nature. As he says, “it’s not the mountain that changes through our ascent, but we ourselves become different” (R. Messner, My Life on the Edge, Stapis Publishing House).
Author of over 80 books, translated into 24 languages.
A mountain farmer, television commentator, lecturer, and speaker, he currently dedicates himself to mountain films as a writer, director, and producer. He served as a Member of the European Parliament from 1999 to 2004.
He has starred in documentaries and written numerous articles published in magazines such as “Stern,” “Spiegel,” “Geo,” “Epoca,” “Es-presso,” and “National Geographic.”
He has received numerous awards and distinctions, including: “ITAS” (1975), “Primi Monti” (1968), “DAV” (1976/1979), “Donauland” (1995), “CO-NI” (1998), “BAMBI” Lifetime Award (2000), “Patron’s Medal” of the Royal Geographical Society (2001), “Pangea Foundation” (2001), the environmental award “Ac-quiambiente” (2002), “ITAS” (2002), “Dolomiti-Superski” (2002), Internat. He has received the Sociedad Geográfica Española Award (2005), the NaturLife Environmental Award (2010), the “Pio-let d’Or carrière” (2010); the Diners Club Magazine “Visionary of the Year” Award (2011); and the “Sports Legend” Award at the German Sports Press Ball (2017).
He also received the Princess of Asturias Award for Sport (2018) and the TÜV Rheinland Global Compact Award (2021). He is an Honorary Member of the Royal Geographical Society and the Explorers Club of New York. He has also received awards in Italy, Nepal, Pakistan, France, and the USA.
