Messner, Reinhold: - Born in 1944 in Villnöss, South Tyrol, REINHOLD MESSNER is the most famous mountaineer and adventurer of our time. He has achieved roughly one hundred first ascents, climbed all fourteen eightthousanders, and crossed Antarctica, Greenland, and Tibet, and the Gobi and Takla Makan deserts. After serving as a member of the European Parliament, he now devotes much of his time and energy to his farm, the Messner Mountain Museum project, and his foundation, which supports mountain peoples and culture worldwide.