Reinhold Messner is not a fan of summit crosses

In an interview with the Viennese church newspaper “Der Sonntag”, Messner said, according to Kathpress, that although he did not want to see the existing crosses removed, at the same time he was “against new crosses”.

“The summit cross is a late phenomenon and not part of our Alpine culture. I want to draw attention to that,” said Messner. Initially only one “stone man” was placed on summits. “Stones were stacked on top of each other to say, ‘Someone was here,'” said Messner.

Messner also criticized cell phone masts in the mountains: “A small summit cross is less bad. Cell phone masts take away the majesty of the mountain. They are the greater unculture. They make the mountain banal.”