Simon Messner, half alpinist and half videomaker

Simon knows how to stand on his own feet, without being too influenced by the paternal dimension. “I started going to the mountains late,” he explains. “I was sixteen the first time I tried to climb” and he must not have being so bad at it considering what he can do now. The mountain has always been part of his life, “since I was a child I listened my dad’s stories, the epics of Walter Bonatti, the saga of the Germans on Nanga Parbat and many others” that probably stimulated his imagination so much to push him, years later, to try first hand what it means to climb the untouched walls of a mountain and to trace new routes.

His debut in the world of mountaineering, alongside the Bolzano-based company Salewa, was immediately noticeable making him the protagonist, last summer in Pakistan, of two high-level adventures: the first solo climb of Geshot Peak (6200 m) as well as the first climb of the Black Tooth (6718 m) together with Martin Sieberer. The climb of Geshot Peak should not have been solo, but in the company of Reinhold, also in Pakistan for filming his new movie. “The idea of ​​climbing it came from him, since he had seen a possible route in 1970”, an idea that he always set aside until today. “We should have gone up together, but the large amount of snow that fell during the past season made the route very difficult.” So Simon took the decision to try it by himself, because “being solo you can manage dangers better and be faster”. Also on the Black Tooth the bad weather has got in the way, complicating the games. “When we reached the top we were completely immersed in white out, we didn’t see anything around us” and the descent was certainly not easy. ” In addition to visibility problems we could not take the tent with us because the terrain was too steep”, there was no space to anchor it to the ground. “This is why we decided to reach the summit in just one day and then immediately started the descent and continued throughout the next night” so as not to get stuck at that height because of bad weather.

Mountaineer and videomaker

Today Simon is a successful videomaker, he set up a film production company with Reinhold and now realizes mountain movies. They rediscover and turn into film epic events that today are part of the history of mountaineering.

However, this was not the path that a younger Simon wanted to take. After high school he devoted himself to study molecular biology, “a very interesting and promising scientific field, but unfortunately the laboratory is not my world” he explains. “Staying ten or eleven hours behind a desk is not for me, especially if the sun is shining outside.” His plan, after his studies, was to find a way to “work as little as possible so that he could spend as much time as possible climbing”. One day Reinhold shows up and simply tells him: let’s make mountain films together. “It was not a question, but a statement. At the beginning I was surprised and I didn’t know how to react, then, thinking about it, I convinced myself to embark on this new adventure”.

Mountaineering as a way to be free

“Climbing gives you a sense of freedom” he says. “This is why I still don’t know if I want to become a true mountain professional or remain a videomaker.” Simon is an anomalous mountaineer, he does not like to talk about himself through social media or bragging about his achievements. His Instagram profile remains silent for months when he is on an expedition, then he posts some photos, a couple of videos, and tells about the climb. No striking announcement accompanies his departures towards unknown places. “Inside me the strongest feelings are triggered when I land on untouched mountains in remote areas”, where you can only rely on your strengths and your decision-making capacity. “Where no one can tell you what will it be, this is how I imagine the perfect climb”.