True story: I bumped into Reinhold Messner at the base of Mount Sabyinyo in Rwanda on December 31, 2016. Because I had read several of his books, I instantly recognized him with his signature disheveled hair and gray beard. Still, I politely asked, "Excuse me. Are you Reinhold Messner?" He looked at me, grumbled an unclear non-answer, and turned away to join his small group. I shuffled over to Rejoice Tapon and said, "I'm 95% sure that that man over there is Reinhold Messner, the greatest mountaineer ever!" She'd never heard of him, but she said, "I'll get a selfie with him!" Rejoice boldly asked him for a selfie. Perhaps Messner was impressed with her beauty, or didn't want to appear racist by turning down what he figured was a local Rwandan (Rejoice is from Cameroon). Regardless, he agreed. And she triumphantly showed it off to me to rub it in. I mention this story because I laughed when I read Messner's confession on Kindle Location 3057 of "Against the Wind." He wrote: "Approachability and sociability have never been my strong points." This sums up what I hope is NOT his final book. His book is full of criticisms of Messner. Most criticisms originate from journalists, climbers, or partners. However, sometimes he criticizes himself (like his poor social skills). For Messner, all these criticisms are a constant "headwind" that he has faced throughout this remarkable long life (he's over 80). This book is NOT what I expected. I've read five of his books and loved them all, especially "Crystal Horizon," which is about his solo climb up Everest's north face in 1980 without oxygen. I expected profound reflections and wisdom. The book's subtitle even promises "reflections." However, the reflections are shallow. The subtitle should be, "Defending Myself Against an Army of Critics." He spends about 25% of the book discussing the tragic loss of his brother, Gunther, on Nanga Parbat. Throughout the book, he has long excerpts of articles that heavily criticize Messner, especially about how he "abandoned" his brother after summitting. I admire Messner for sharing what his critics say and then offering his rebuttal. He could have made a series of strawman arguments that he could easily tear down. Instead, he gives his critics a strong platform, and they crucify him. I never doubted his story, which I read in one of his previous books. He said that after he and Gunther summited, they traversed the mountain by descending the Rupal Face instead of returning the way they ascended. Reinhold was significantly ahead of Gunther, who died in an avalanche. Messner spends MANY pages refuting idiotic claims that others have made. For example, they claim Messner went down one way while he told his brother to go down a different way, alone. They claim that he planned all along to traverse the mountain, which he denies. What's sad is that you don't need to invent lies to make Messner look bad. Just use his words against him. I'll do so by just taking three points from his latest book. 1. Messner repeatedly said that Gunther was extremely weak at the summit and suffering from altitude issues. 2. His book says, "Reinhold reported that he was about one and a half hours in front of his brother and had lost sight of him." 3. However, later in the book, Messner writes, "During the descent, I was convinced that he was right behind me." I'm a mountaineer who has been in many difficult situations and sometimes been with a weak or injured partner. I would certainly get ahead of my weak partner to scout the terrain, to find the easiest path down. However, I would ALWAYS remain within sight or earshot, ESPECIALLY if my partner is feeble. If they're suffering from high altitude issues, they could collapse at any moment. This is common sense & prudence. How can Messner claim, "I was convinced that he was right behind me," and admit that he was "about one and a half hours in front of his brother and had lost sight of him." That's a ridiculous contradiction. It's normal that in the darkness, you might get ahead of your partner and lose visual and auditory contact for several minutes. The moment you realize that you're disconnected, you should stop and wait for your partner to catch up. If he doesn't appear after 15 minutes, it's time to backtrack. To get 90 minutes ahead of your weakened partner is negligent. That fact is all I need to know that Messner was wrong, negligent, and irresponsible. He screwed up. That's all he needs to say. However, instead of addressing this obvious failure, Messner spends pages proving that his critics are wrong about many of their false claims. Enough about their claims! Shut up, Messner! Address the elephant in the room, which you readily admit! And yet, he doesn't clearly and unambiguously say that he was a horrible brother and climbing partner during that descent. The closest he comes to admitting his mistake is when he writes: "Felix Kuen was also one and a half hours ahead of his climbing partner when he reache
