By Radhika Agrawal
In the heart of the frozen wilderness, the 18th Antarctic Ice Marathon unfolded on December 13, 2023. Nestled at 80 degrees south, a few hundred miles from the South Pole, and framed by the formidable Ellsworth Mountains, this marathon stands as a testament to human resilience. This year, fifty-two men and fourteen women decided to take on the challenge to brave the remote, inhospitable terrains of one of the most demanding running races on the planet. Montblanc’s Managing Director for the Watch Division Laurent Lecamp and Montblanc Mark Maker and mountaineer Simon Messner participated in the marathon. We had a chance to speak to Messner ahead of the event, to find out about his journey as a mountaineer, his expectations from the Antarctic Ice Marathon, and his collaboration with Montblanc.
So, how long have you been mountaineering?
Simon Messner: I started quite late. I started when I was 15 or 16 years old. And nowadays, children start climbing when they are four or five years old. So, it was quite late. But the first day I went to the mountains, I immediately knew this is what I wanted to do. Strangely, climbing found me. It’s my big passion.
As the son of renowned mountaineer Reinhold Messner, how has your family’s legacy influenced your own mountaineering journey and achievements?
Simon Messner: I have two sisters, one is older, one is smaller. Our father was always narrating these amazing mountain stories to us as children, mostly before going to bed. He’s a master in storytelling, that’s for sure. I inherited his philosophy for sure, but still, there’s a beautiful saying, which goes like—you can inherit a lot of things, stories, knowledge, a lot of things, but you can’t inherit experiences. So, every generation has to go out and search for their own experiences.
Can you share how you prepared for the Antarctic Ice Marathon, and how did the challenging environment impact your approach to the race?
Simon Messner: So, as an alpinist, I had been training by doing uphill runs. When I decided to do the Ice Marathon, I began training for distance running, which was new to me. And I knew from my mountaineering experience that the harsh conditions in Antarctica will become the biggest challenge. And so, I tried to do some runs on the snow, at higher altitude, and in the cold. But I feel quite comfortable with this.
The Montblanc South Pole watch is known for its durability in extreme conditions. How will this timepiece contribute to your performance during the Antarctic Ice Marathon?
Simon Messner: I did the whole training with the watch on my wrist to test it and to get comfortable with it. Now, the challenge is to take it to the Antarctic to test it in real conditions. And I’m sure it will be my most important friend over there. Because it shows me my progress. It shows me how I’m performing for the marathon. So, it’s amazing that Montblanc has asked me to interact with and to test this watch. This marathon is also a huge opportunity for me, because it’s a new challenge. It’s great to have this watch because it’s made for outdoor sports and it’s very beautiful.
Given your commitment to preserving the tradition of climbing and minimising environmental impact, how do you navigate the balance between achieving your mountaineering goals and maintaining sustainability?
Simon Messner: I’m thinking a lot about how to reduce my impact, but it’s hard not to travel for climbing. But nowadays, I do all of my endurance training at home. I’m trying to take the plane not more often than every two years, which is still a lot, but it’s one possibility to reduce my impact. I’m also very lucky because the most beautiful mountains I know are not far away from my home place, Dolomites. But for sure, for other people, it’s more difficult, so it’s still a very complex thing.
Could you elaborate on the significance of not using supplemental oxygen on your ventures, following in the footsteps of your father? How does this choice shape your mountaineering philosophy?
Simon Messner: There’s a wide range of things that you can use in mountaineering, which you don’t have to use. Apart from artificial oxygen, it can be help received from helicopters, fixed ropes on the high mountains, porters etc. My father was the inventor of this way of thinking. I grew up with this way of going to the mountains with this reduction philosophy and I am convinced that this is the only way where alpinism will last in the future.
How do you prepare mentally and physically for solo ascents, particularly in environments as challenging as the Antarctic? Are there specific rituals or routines you follow?
Simon Messner: The best thing is just to practise by being out in the mountains for as many days as possible, and I think it’s the same for the marathon. The more you run in the cold, the better, just to get comfortable with it. And there’s not a special routine before a big climb or before a big challenge. But it’s a constant growth. So, if you climb a route today, it will lead you to a more difficult route in the future.
In what ways do you think mountaineering contributes to personal growth and development, and how has it shaped your perspective on life?
Simon Messner: I’m convinced that mountaineering is one of the last possibilities to have deep experiences, because our planet has mostly been explored. There aren’t too many white spots remaining. But the mountains are there, and if you don’t use too much technology, as I mentioned before, it will become an adventure. And I would say for the next generations, this is a huge possibility, and we should try to preserve this kind of freedom for them. My life was definitely shaped by mountaineering. I was a very timid child and I was very afraid of heights, but mountaineering helped me to understand that I’m capable of doing much more than I could comprehend.
