The Naked Mountain

This book, published three decades after the event, relates to over seven decades of attempts to reach the summit of the “Naked Mountain.” Its Rupal (southern) Face, which rises nearly three vertical miles above the valley floor, is so steep that little snow adheres to it, hence its more familiar name, “Nanga Parbat,” based on the Sanskrit words for naked and mountain. It is the 9th highest mountain in the world, and, judging by the ratio of climber deaths to summit successes, the third most dangerous of the 8,000+ meter peaks. Regarding the Rupal Face, author Reinhold Messner writes, “There was no mountaineering challenge that came close.” It was “the Holy Grail German mountaineering.”In Naked Mountain, Messner describes early climbs on the mountain by Albert Mummery (in 1895), and German expeditions of 1932 and 1934. For this volume, the 1934 expedition was especially important, because its leader, Willi Merkl, was one of several Germans who died on the mountain. Merkl’s half-brother, Karl Herrligkoffer, became obsessed with the need to honor Merkl’s memory by reaching the summit. In 1953, Herrligkoffer led the expedition on which Hermann Buhl was the first man to attain the summit (via the Rakhiot Face). Not satisfied with this, Herrligkoffer led future expeditions which marked the first ascents of the mountain by the Diamir Face (1962) and the Rupal Face (1970).The 1970 expedition is the principal subject of Naked Mountain. Prior to reaching the Himalayas, Messner had built his reputation by making various difficult climbs in Europe, often accompanied by his brother, Gűnther. In this book, his purpose, in addition to describing the climb itself, was (1) to pay a tribute to his brother Gűnther, who died on this expedition; (2) to respond to critics, who argued that by continuing to climb with Günther, he had risked his brother’s life to satisfy his own ambition; (3) to answer allegations that he had planned from the start to descend via the Diamir Face (contrary to Herrligkoffer’s plan); and (4) to explain how his desperate descent from the summit (during which his brother died), placed him in a “border crossing from this world to the next,” that became “the defining experience of my life.”An important back story to the 1970 expedition was Messner’s relationship with Herrligkoffer. Herrligkoffer’s successes as an expedition leader have been noted. But expedition members were not always pleased with his leadership, or his descriptions of events. Herrligkoffer was not a climber himself, but he expected loyalty from expedition climbers; thus, according to Messner, in 1953, Herrligkoffer saw Buhl as “the defiler of the pure ideal,” and, in 1970, saw Messner’s climb as “an act of treachery,” because Buhl and Messner had acted contrary to his wishes. Messner repeatedly expresses suspicion (often couched in interrogative voice) about Herrligkoffer’s actions: “Why was it only the second summit team that had taken a Pakistani flag with them [for photographing on the summit]?” “Had there been some kind of foul play going on during our expedition?” Messner is especially suspicious about the base camp’s firing of a red rocket, which signaled the climbers to descend because of impending bad weather, although no bad weather was actually anticipated. Was this simply a ploy to prevent him from reaching the summit? And Messsner questioned the expedition’s apparent failure to mount a search for him and his brother. Further, Herrligkoffer claimed exclusive publication rights, which might deny Messner an opportunity to present his version of events.Nonetheless, Messner’s view of Herrligkoffer remains ambiguous. He spoke of the fellowship of climbers, from which men like Heffligkoffer, who “sought to gain forced entry into our dangerous paradise and take what did not belong to them, were excluded.” On the other hand, Herrligkoffer was the facilitator; he knew how to raise money and obtain permissions. “He alone could give us our chance.” Finally, “Were Karl and I so very different? Both of us had lost our brothers on Nanga Parbat, both were loners. Why were we unable to talk about it?” “We were not adversaries; we simply followed contradictory ideals of how life should be. We stood up for what we believed. And above us stood the Naked Mountain.”Recovering from his ordeal after the expedition, Messner was pessimistic. Because frostbite had caused the loss of several toes, “I would no longer be able to climb the way I had climbed before Nanga Parbat.” “As an invalid with amputated toes I could see no future for me as a mountaineer.” “My climbing career was over.” In retrospect, these were strange thoughts. Actually, Nanga Parbat was only his first foray into the Himalayas. His 1970 climb was only the second traverse of an 8,000+ meter peak. Thereafter, Messner became the first to complete a solo climb on an 8,000-meter mountain, the first to climb Everest without oxygen, the first to climb all 14 8,000+ meter peaks without oxygen, and compile a record, based on the mountains he summited and the routes he mastered, that gives him an arguable claim to being the best mountain climber of all time.Naked Mountain contains a 314-page narrative, 27 pages of color photographs, many black and white photographs interspersed throughout the text, a brief selection of Messner’s reflections on his brother’s journal, and a single-page bibliography of related German-language publications.

This is a much awaited book as Messner tells his side of what happened on the Nanga Parbut expedition that killed his brother in 1970. The book mentioned that as a condition for the tour, climbers were required to sign Confidentiality Documents that they would not discuss the climb keeping the expedition organizer from being subject to criticism. This gentleman was mountain obsessed as his half brother had died on the mountain years earlier. He also was not a climber which set him up for criticism as the real climbers downgraded the organization work necessary to mount this expedition. He has since passed on which I suspect is one reason the book has now been written.One must remember that this is a biased report by Messner but I don't think unbelievable. He gives him and his brother credit for the massive hauling and camp building only to be told at summit strategy that he is on the assault team but his beloved brother is not.What happens next as he attempts to summit and surprisingly is followed by a late attempt by his brother is controversial, dangerous and makes for exceptional reading. From Messner's standpoint without a rescue crew coming they descend down the backside of the mountain as it is their only option with limited equipment but creates another set of problems. An interesting section of the book is after Messner descends but must communicate with villagers as he is near death.Overall, I would encourage anyone to read this book that likes mountaineering stories. It's written by a controversial, master climber. The book also is littered with pictures of the mountain which are quite striking.

Reinhold Messner is of course a legend in mountaineering. This book recounts his climb of Nanga Parbat in 1970 with his brother Gunther and a team formed by Dr. Karl Maria Herligkoffer. It is really Messner's explanation of the events that led to Gunther's death on the mountain, illumintated by his grief over the loss of his beloved brother. Of course the disputes over these events will never be resolved, many of the participants are now dead, but Naked Mountain is an act of contrition and catharsis for Messner more that a readable tale of adventure. The language seems somewhat dated and artificial, but I suspect this is due to translation issues. Overall I would rate this book a moderate plus for readers of mountaineering literature.

I have been reading mountainerring books for awhile and always heard what an egotistical person Reinhold was .I was pleasantly surprised to read his book.He did an excellent job of giving the reader a true feel of the mountain,weather and all the different personalities.I would highly recommend this book, and I plan on trying some of his others.

This is the only book I've read of Mesner's, and while I found it interesting and generally entertaining, There are much better mountain writers out there. Read it because if who he is, not for what he's written.

Have not finished the book yet but find Messners account mesmerizing.

Enjoyed it very much.

This guy is climbing and the book is in excellent condition.

I am half way through this book and am really enjoying it. Great detailed book and complimented with some stunning photos. There was some comments about the grammar due to the translation from German into English. However, this is something I haven’t noticed and the grammar seems fine to me. Highly recommend.

I really liked this account of R Messner's climb of Nanga Parbat and the tragic events that followed. Perhaps it may not be the best translation into English but I really liked this book. Or it may be his writing style but i love it.

Reinhold Messner has a strange way of writing (unless it is how it translates) which takes a bit to get used to. It is certainly not the best mountaineering related book that I have read or the best Reinhold Messner book.

The best book from the best climber... Mesmerising

Epic tale of mountaineering triumph and tragedy. Written by a icon of post war mountaineering. Gripping and harrowing and yet with a strong sense of redemption.