The true alpinist doesn't want any infrastructure, he wants to go into the wild. And the odds of getting killed there are relatively high. And most people are sensible enough not to want that.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the adventurous spirit of true alpinists who seek the thrill of the wild, accepting the inherent dangers involved.
Reinhold Messner highlights the essence of true alpinism: a deep desire to explore untamed nature without reliance on modern infrastructure. While this pursuit carries a significant risk of danger, it is this very challenge that distinguishes genuine adventurers from those who play it safe, reflecting a courage that embraces uncertainty and the sublime beauty of the wilderness.
In practice
This quote can be used to inspire fellow climbers and adventurers during motivational talks.
I became famous for the fact that I would break many, many limits. People said, 'He does all these crazy things.' But oddly it was a crazy thing only because scientists and climbers said, 'Everest and the 8,000-meter peaks without oxygen - impossible. Messner is becoming sick in his head.'
A 30-year-old rock climber is an old man. At 40, one is in the middle of his high-altitude power. At 50, a crosser of deserts is at his best age. But at 60, each of us is out of the game.
I think my cultural work is more important than the adventures I did. The adventures are not important for human beings. It's the conquering of the useless.
In mountaineering, there is not only the activity, but the philosophy behind it. Some say a moral, but I am against that because all morality is dangerous.
I was the first man to climb the world's 14 tallest peaks without supplementary oxygen, but I never asked how high I would go, just how I would do it.
In my state of spiritual abstraction, I no longer belong to myself and to my eyesight. I am nothing more than a single narrow gasping lung, floating over the mists and summits.
The scum of the earth... but what fine soldiers we have made them.
You will be judged in years to come by how you responded to genocide on your watch.
A warrior is not a person that carries a gun. The biggest war you ever go through is right between your own ears. It's in your mind. We're all going through a war in our mind, and we have to callus our mind to fight that war and to win that war.
Fear is never a reason for quitting; it is only an excuse.
You’re not leaving me here alone,” I say. Because if he dies, I’ll never go home, not really. I’ll spend the rest of my life in this arena, trying to think my way out.
Valor lies just halfway between rashness and cowardice.
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