A shocking story of brotherly betrayal that gripped the world of mountaineering for over 50 years has been put to rest after the discovery of a climber's boot previously entombed in a Himalayan glacier.
The boot, belonging to Geunther Messner, a young Italian climber who died in 1970 on the slopes of Naga Parbat in Pakistan, backs up his brother's story that he had been swept away in an avalanche.
Geunther and his brother Reinhold Messner, who went on to become of the world's most famous climbers, had been trying to climb the 26,660ft mountain when tragedy struck.
Reinhold has always claimed his brother was swept away in an avalanche but rumours persisted he had abandoned his brother to die on the mountain in an attempt to win the glory of reaching the top alone.
According to his story he barely escaped the avalanche with his life, staggering down the mountain and wandering for six days until he was rescued.
He has always said it was a miracle he survived the tragedy that took his brother's life.
He explained: “When they found me down in the valley I hadn’t eaten for six days and I weighed 56kg [171lbs]. I cheated death.”
Reinhold Messner went on to become the first person to climb Mt Everest without oxygen.
Now, 52 years later, the location of the boot appears to back up Reinhold's insistence that he didn't abandon his younger brother.
It was found by locals at the foot of the mountain’s western Diamir face, exactly where Reinhold said his brother had been swept to his death.
Reinhold posted a photo of the boot on Instagram to support his story.
“This is further proof that I did not abandon Guenther,” he told Italy’s Corriere della Sera newspaper. “People said I left him to die, sacrificing him for my own ambition.”
A bone belonging to his brother had been found in the same area back in 2005, along with his other boot.
“The remains were found on the slope which I had always said was the place where I saw him disappear,” he said.
The boot had been specially made for his brother for the exhibition.
“The mountain never lies and, if there was still the need, the discovery of this boot definitively establishes the truth of my brother’s death.
“This is incontrovertible proof that Guenther disappeared during the descent, not during the ascent.”
Reinhold Messner now wants the boot sent back to Italy, where it will go on display in one of the Messner Mountain Museums that he has established in his native South Tyrol, the German-speaking corner of northern Italy.
