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.
I would describe and I have described myself to people who ask as a freedom fighter.
One of the speakers asked how many women had been harassed or abused sexually in their life? There were thousands of women in the audience, and almost every one of them raised her hand.
I think what weakens people most is fear of wasting their strength.
But the safety of the world, in some sense, depends on your saying no to inhumane ideas. Standing up for one's own integrity makes you no friends. It is costly. Yet defiance of the mob, in the service of that which is right, is one of the highest expressions of courage I know.
Activism is something that no one can fake. You get angry. You cry. But you never throw in your towel, because that anger is what is propelling you to further action.
There are deaths in public places on the grounds that the victim is gay.
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