Quotes by Reinhold Messner

“I do this for myself because I am my own fatherland, and my handkerchief is my flag.”

“Today nobody (is) using leather shoes. Only in this expedition we used this shoe.”

“put his brother’s boot on the table”

“We attract tourists to these regions where we cant guarantee their security,”

“Over time, our only chance at safety will depend on not turning the mountains into Disneyland.”

After every few steps, we huddle over our ice axes mouths agape, struggling for sufficient breath to keep our muscles going.... at a height of 8800 metres, we can no longer keep on our feet while we rest. We crumple to our knees, clutching our axes.... Every ten or fifteen steps we collapse into the snow to rest, then crawl on again.

...seen from above, landscapes are made up of mountains and watercourses. Just as a transparent model of the human body consists of a framework of bone and a network of arteries, the earths crust is structured in mountain ridges, river, creeks, and gullies.

The wonderful things in life are the things you do, not the things you have.

“What gives me strength is the feeling of being independent. In effect, Im really just a dilettante. Ive lived, explored, and worked - but only in nonjobs. Ive often achieved success against all the predictions. And Ive done it by following a very simple pattern of behavior: stick at it and do everything in my power to make it happen.”

“Through my failures I have learned how to live - and the more I failed, the more I learned. In my search for the limits, I have failed more than most, and it is this that has made me successful, over and over again.”

“For me, success is not measured at the end of life. A successful life is what you have when you are doing things. There are moments when I overcome difficulties, and thats when I feel strong and fulfilled. My success, my life, was nothing more than turning ideas into reality.”