“I was first to understand it was boring to go with heavy shoes to base camp. When we first tried Dhaulagiri, a very difficult approach at high altitude, we needed very heavy boots. So it was usual to wear such heavy boots to approach all base camps. But I thought this was crazy. We needed lighter shoes for many of the approaches.”

Italian climber, explorer, and author

Reinhold Messner is an Italian climber, explorer, and author from South Tyrol, born in 1944. He is known for a series of landmark feats in high-altitude mountaineering and exploration. He made the first solo ascent of Mount Everest and, with Peter Habeler, the first ascent of Everest without supplementary oxygen. He was also the first person to climb all 14 eight-thousanders without supplementary oxygen. Beyond the mountains, he crossed Antarctica and Greenland without snowmobiles or dog sleds, and also crossed the Gobi Desert alone.