An emotional return tracing his own history and the memory of his brother Günther: Reinhold Messner has climbed back up to the rock in Pakistan from which, 56 years ago, the two brothers caught their first distant glimpse of the imposing mass of Nanga Parbat (8,126 metres).
The ascent was documented by the famous South Tyrolean mountaineer himself — who turns 82 today — through a video and a message posted to his social media profile. "Today I returned to the rock from which Günther and I first saw Nanga Parbat in the distance. Today I climbed back up there. This is where it all began. For me, Nanga Parbat has become much more than just a mountain," Messner wrote on social media.
The story surrounding Nanga Parbat remains one of the most dramatic chapters in world mountaineering: on 29 June 1970, after reaching the summit, the two brothers began their descent down the opposite face, but during the traverse Günther tragically lost his life, swept away by an ice avalanche.
Reproduction reserved © Copyright ANSA
