For two decades (the first museum opened in Sigmundskron Castle in 1995) Messner, the first person to climb Mount Everest solo and without oxygen, the first to climb all fourteen peaks over 8,000 metres and definitely the most famous mountaineer alive, has been creating a group of museums in the Dolomites on the subject of mountains. His philosophy – no artificial oxygen, no bolts, no communication – has made him a champion of the values that give mountaineering a dimension that has more to do with art than with sport. He once described the museums as his “15th eightthousander”. Along with Firmian, Ortles, Juval, Dolomites and Ripa, the MMM Corones now completes the circle of these truly striking museums aimed at portraying the entirety of mountaineering. The complexity of the Corones project, not to mention the practical difficulties of construction, taxed minds and caused many sleepless nights. Many parts had to be transported by lorry to the site at an altitude of 2,275 metres and work was often delayed by the adverse conditions. But finally completed and opened last summer, the Corones Museum is as distinctive as the rest. The curved concrete structure at the summit of the Kronplatz looks like a beautiful spaceship that has embedded itself into the rock. Much of the structure is underground and it can be disorienting as you make your way through the 1,000 square metres of the gallery tunnels, but huge projections give
amazing panoramic views into the valley. The Corones Museum houses mountain art and artefacts that Messner has collected over half a century. He explains that here he is depicting the history and development of modern mountain climbing: the transformation of the equipment over the past 250 years, the triumphs and tragedies of the world’s most famous mountains – the Matterhorn, Cerro Torre, K2 – and, although it seems contradictory, their ability to represent what we do. “It is unbelievably exciting to tell stories from a stage of this magnitude”.

 Copyright 2016 Mart Engelen