About the Author

REINHOLD MESSNER is often called the greatest living mountaineer. He was the first man to summit Everest without supplementary oxygen, the first to solo Everest, and the first to climb all fourteen of the world's 8,000-meter peaks. He is the author of numerous books, including The Crystal Horizon and Antarctica.



Interviewer Thomas Hüetlin is an award-winning correspondent for the German magazine Der Spiegel and divides his time between Berlin and London. Translator Tim Carruthers has climbed extensively in Europe, the United States, and South America and has translated works by Hermann Buhl, Heinrich Harrer, Anderl Heckmair, and Reinhold Messner.