The mountaineer Viesturs renounces the crown of king of the 8 thousand: "The record belongs to Messner"

«I firmly believe that Reinhold Messner was the first to climb all 14 eight-thousanders and that this must be recognized».

These are the words of the mountaineer Ed Viesturs who , according to the Guinness Book of Records, would be the true "king of the eight thousand" , given that the South Tyrolean missed the summit of Annapurna by a few meters in 1985.

According to the 64-year-old American, « Messner and the other climbers did everything to climb the real peaks, to the best of their knowledge and in the conditions they found on site ».

Of Messner, Viesturs tells Dpa that «he was our precursor, not only stylistically, but also physically and psychologically, climbing without supplementary oxygen. Other climbers, like me, were able to follow in his footsteps, taking inspiration from him."

Like Messner, the American also reiterates that "climbing is a personal journey and should not be about lists or records".

(Unioneonline/vl)