Messner’s eight-thousanders – it isn’t only about sport

R. Messner, My Eight-thousanders. 1989. 

In 1970, Rheinold Messner climbed the summit of Nanga Parbat, one of the eight-thousanders in Himalayas. No his way back, however, he lost his brother to an avalanche and seven toes doe to frostbites. Imagine that you parents entrust your younger brother to you and you lose him. Losing seven fingers means that the stability of your gait suffers and you can say goodbye to climbing on the walls. It took Messner half a year to get over the trauma. An ordinary man would quit. But Messner came back and climbed the remaining 13 eight-thousanders! Some of them even twice; without oxygen mask and in alpine style. Amazing performance. But good condition is a matter of course. It isn’t only about sport.

For many of us, sport is an inherent part of life, for some it is the entire life. However, sport is primarily a key to life. It does not develop only physical fitness but also other psychical characteristics that are important for coping with different situations. Guys in London often mentioned in their CVs competitive rugby or football, which developed fair play, cooperation and also furthered their will. Once I saw a bunch of guys practicing rugby in Cambridge. Mid February, it required lot of will and toughness to play there in the cold and rain. Sport develops these traits. When you get out of the comfort and go running even it is snowing, the very moment you are a winner. And it is not only about sport.

Cambridge, Feb 2013. Rugby develops toughness and team play.

Next, sport develops persistence and discipline, mainly the endurance events. I have friends – triathletes and I admire how they spend long hours in the water or cycling. It is not only about enjoyment, you must have above the average level of patience and self-discipline. And it can be improved by sport. Friend leaves the party before midnight without having a single drink in order not to slack the training session the next morning. Try go without drinks next Friday night and also leave out the fast food. At the very moment you are the winner, even if it isn’t only about sport.

Third, sport improves the team spirit and fair play. As I already mentioned, the guys who had played team sports made better team members at work. Collective sports teach you that your performance affects also the other people. Red card in fifth minute leaves the rest of the team in trouble. Not to speak about the extreme sports, where teams face extreme situations. A mountain climber never walks out on his companion. Next time when you finish your work earlier, look around your colleagues and if someone is covered in work, give him a hand with the excel tables or at least bring him a coffee. You are a winner, but again it isn’t about sport.

Free hang is useful in mountain climbing.
London, Jan 2013.

I go for sport for long on in order to keep fit and healthy, and it taught me a lot. But only after reading Messner’s book have I realised that regardless of what you achieved, you can still push the limits. I wake up 15 minutes earlier to do a little exercise and practice my Spanish by reading newspapers. But there are people whose alarm rings one hour prior to mine and they prepare the breakfast and snack for their kids. And they are in better shape and with better Spanish than me.

Hardly ever will I beat Himalayas, it would require load of practice and moreover, my body is sensitive to cold. In winter months my joints and extremities turn violet, which does not add to my chances. Anyway, I still go running outside at Christmas and I exercise outdoors with hands frozen to the bars. But I go. I think that it pulls me closer to Messner, even if I still would not make it to the basic camp under an eight-thousander. I am trying to push my limits and change the discomfort for a challenge. It is the more difficult that instead of focusing on my performance I must also care about the other people. It isn’t only about sport.