On Top Of The World. Poem by Michael Walker
On Top Of The World.
Reinhold Messner, an Italian, has had more highs
than any other mountain climber, having reached the top first
of all the world's 8000 metre-plus peaks in the Himalayas and
the Karakoram.
He accomplished it between 1970 and 1986, without tank oxygen.
And quickly, lightweight alpine style without high altitude camps.
However, Messner had made his 1970 debut in the Himalaya
with a German expedition led by Karl Herligkoffer,
on Nanga Parbat in the Karakoram Range, Pakistan.
Reinhold and his brother Gunther reached the summit,
after climbing the Rupal Face, but Gunther died on the Diamir Face descent.
Reinhold returned to Nanga Parbat the following year trying to find
Gunther's body, but was unsuccessful in that and his summit bid.
As if to get even, Messner made a solo ascent of Nanga Parbat seven years later.
Growing in confidence, Messner with Sher Khan and Nazir Sabir
climbed Gasherbrum II and Broad Peak in 1982, one after the other.
Reinhold had also summited Kangchenjunga earlier that pinnacle year.
With his friend Peter Habeler, Messner climbed Mt. Everest alpine style
in 1978 without using bottled oxygen, though linking up with an Austrian team at one camp.
Messner went one better two years later on his solo ascent
of Everest in the monsoon season, another 'first'.
K2 is the world's second highest mountain, but the hardest to climb.
It soars 28,251 feet in solitary splendour in the Karakoram, Pakistan and China.
Messner was part of a six-man expedition to K2. The other climbers failed, but he reached the summit of the savage mountain with Michael Dacher.
Messner trained like an athlete before his climbs and got acclimatized to the thin air at altitude gradually
so that he couldbreathe in the Death Zone at 25,000 feet
and higher, nearing the top of the world.
(Reinhold Messner b.1944) .
- 8-11 August,2019.,
Messner revolutionized the sport by climbing lightweight, alpine style and quickly. In 1975, he needed only three days to ascend Gasherbrum I. He did not use the heavy, cumbersome oxygen tanks, which other climbers relied on. Even Hillary and Tensing needed this on the last stages of climbing Mt. Everest.
Reinhold wrote 80 books about his mountain climbs; I have read: 'The Crystal Horizon', 'To the Top of the World', 'Everest. Expedition to the Ultimate'.
I did not touch on Messner's other exploits, in the Antarctic and the Gobi Desert. Nor was there space to mention all his climbs of the 14 eight-thousanders.
In 2005, after a considerable meltdown of snow and ice, Gunther's remains were found on the Diamir Face of Nanga Parbat. Even now, there are legal disputes about Gunther's death. Reinhold claimed that the other climbers should have come to his aid, but did not. Herligkoffer denied this in court. My guess is that Reinhold descended faster than Gunther, so that they got separated. Being alone, Gunther was much more vulnerable to falling.
Saga of an extraordinary mountaineer who scaled all the major mountain peaks of the world. He showed his inner strength and top grade physical fitness when he successfully reached some of the most difficult peaks in solo attempts and/or as a member of a team. Reinhold Messner will remain an epitome of courage and will power. Thanks for sharing it, Michael.
You have the same thoughts about Reinhold Messner as I do, thanks.
Reinhold Messner, who is an Italian is given much importance in this brilliantly penned poem. K2 is the world's second highest mountain, but the hardest to climb and this mountain amazes mind. On life and sport, this is a brilliant poem well penned...10
Thanks for noticing K2, a beautiful but dangerous mountain. Many climbers have perished there.
I have read a couple of your poems sir, and besides enjoying the poetic flare, your poems have also been very informative. Thank you for sharing.
A very astute observation, thank you. I do try to give some information in a poem, but not too much.
Till your last verse, Michael, I thought he was probably a pedant and used 'canned' air. Have you read the books of English explorer Wilfred Thesiger?
Robert E. Peary, an American explorer, claimed to have reached the geographic North Pole in 1909. He had widespread support in his claim. Now, however, many doubt that Peary did reach the North Pole, for various reasons.
No, I have not read them. How could he have used canned air? I know there is an element of trust in a climber when he makes claims. Some climbers say they have reached the summit, when they have not. But not Messner, as far as I know.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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11/10/2024 1:47:57 PM # 1.0.0
Incredible knowledge you have penned and reported to us all. Your title is fitting for this remarkable man.