A man’s enigmatic mountain death is finally solved by the discovery of his boot.
Reinhold Messner, a famous alpinist, claims the boot puts to rest any speculation that he abandoned his brother on the treacherous slopes of Naga Parbat in Pakistan.
After the discovery of a climber’s boot previously entombed in a Himalayan glacier, a shocking story of brotherly betrayal that gripped the mountaineering world for over 50 years has been put to rest.
The boot, which belonged to Geunther Messner, a young Italian climber who died in 1970 on the slopes of Naga Parbat in Pakistan, supports his brother’s claim that he was swept away in an avalanche.
Geunther and his brother Reinhold Messner, who went on to become one of the world’s most famous climbers, were attempting to scale the 26,660ft peak when tragedy struck.
Reinhold has always claimed that his brother was killed in an avalanche, but rumours persisted that he had abandoned his brother to die on the mountain in order to achieve the glory of reaching the summit alone.
According to his account, he barely escaped the avalanche, staggering down the mountain and wandering for six days before being rescued.
He’s always said it’s a miracle he survived the tragedy that killed his brother.
“When they found me down in the valley, I hadn’t eaten in six days and I was starving,” he explained.
