Moving MountainsLessons on Life and Leadership Reinhold Messner

Imagine the Possibilities
Exploration always involves self-understanding, where
my weaknesses are, my "open windows," my
psychological and physical reserves? Nevertheless,
practical questions stand in the foreground. A "blind leap"
into pack ice would be stupid. To respond to all logistical
questions, I feed my fantasies with more new stories.
Starting from fleeting probabilities nothing is more
uncertain in its chaos than drifting ice in the Polar Sea. I
can imagine myself, the craziest border-crosser, there. I
start to imagine a dozen possibilities for achieving this
goal. However, by listening to my inner voice, I realize
that if I want to preserve the quality of the trip, only a
handful of possibilities remain. My task is to go without
motors of any kind, with the least possible help from the
outside, and with the return trip the most important part of
the requirements. Now it is necessary to find partners for
this real utopia. Then, visions will be contributed by
several people, and the chance of realization increases.
The first thing for me is an attempt. Without risking an
attempt, I cannot come to a combination of solutions.
Simulated vs. Situational Experience
At indoor training events (lectures on border-crossings,
for example), if someone says that "everyone is climbing
his own Mount Everest" or that "mistakes are fatal on a
solo climb," these remain empty phrases even
embarrassing, when the solo climber who appears can
still talk about his fall. Such talks create caution, but no
stimulation, inhalation, or deep breathing. Good mottos
even if based on valid ideas are of less value than real
experiences, real situations, real responsibility. Authentic
experiences of a serious nature when told have mostly
only informational value to other border-crossers. For
outsiders, they may have conversational value, no more.
Nothing is easier for an "adventurer" than to convert his
non-adventurer listeners' hunger for experiences into
wonderment. But the ability to make wise judgments only
arises when it is required. This is true in every field.