The first people to climb Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen were Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler.
A Groundbreaking Ascent
On May 8th, 1978, Austrian climber Peter Habeler and Italian climber Reinhold Messner achieved a feat previously thought impossible by many experts: reaching the summit of Mount Everest, the world's highest peak, without the aid of bottled oxygen.
Challenging Expert Beliefs
Before this historic climb, the prevailing belief among many mountaineering and medical professionals was that the human body simply could not survive, let alone perform the strenuous act of climbing, at the extreme altitude of Everest's summit (8,848.86 meters or 29,031.7 feet) without supplemental oxygen. The successful ascent by Messner and Habeler fundamentally changed the understanding of human physiological limits at extreme altitude.
Their climb was a monumental achievement, pushing the boundaries of what was considered possible in high-altitude mountaineering and opening a new era of climbs focusing on minimalist styles and challenging the reliance on technology like supplemental oxygen.
Here are the key details from their historic climb:
- Climbers: Reinhold Messner (Italy) and Peter Habeler (Austria)
- Date: May 8, 1978
- Achievement: First ascent of Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen
- Significance: Proved human adaptability to extreme altitude without oxygen, against expert predictions.
This pioneering ascent paved the way for future oxygenless climbs on Everest and other high peaks, inspiring generations of mountaineers to test their own limits.
