Michael Wejchert

In 1966 competing teams raced up the Petit Dru in the Alps above Chamonix, France, to save climbers stranded on the wall. (From 2017)

Peter Habeler and Reinhold Messner took alpine tactics to the Himalaya, blowing minds and redefining the sport itself. Over 40 years later, they speak about the first oxygenless ascent of Everest, and the rift that broke up the greatest climbing partnership of all time.

What does it mean to become a “real climber”—and do you need to risk your life in the process? Seeking an answer, the author revisits the folly of his youthful climbs in the White Mountains, New Hampshire.