Now & Then
...Rolex Super Coolness...
Reinhold Messner
1979 Rolex Explorer Mark II
Conquering Mount Everest and K2
Reinhold Messner is a legend in the Rolex world of adventure. In this photo he is seen climbing K2 back in 1979, sporting his orange hand 36mm Rolex Explorer Mark II [Reference 1655].
Messner was also the first climber to conquer Mount Everest without oxygen. If you think about it, that is a truly amazing feat because there is less than 1/3 of the amount of oxygen on top of Mount Everest than you are breathing right now.
Extreme Mountain climbing may seem like it is glamorous, but the truth is that it is anything but. It is an extremely dangerous sport and it is common for climbers to loose fingers and toes to frostbite. In this photo we see Reinhold Messner with the tips of his feet missing from frostbite.
Reinhold Messner & Peter Habeler
Conquering Mount Everest in 1978
First Climb Without Oxygen
In this next photo from 1978 we see Reinhold Messner with his climbing partner Peter Habeler. This was the first Mount Everest expedition that climbed to the summit without oxygen. This climb was documented in the movie Everest Unmasked.
In the photo above Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler are wearing their Rolex OysterQuartz Datejust watches [Reference 17000]. Peter Habeler is pictured below wearing his Rolex OysterQuartz Datejust.
Reinhold Messner is pictured below wearing his Rolex OysterQuartz
Below is a recent photo of Peter Habeler and Reinhold Messner
1978 Rolex Oysterquartz Ad
Sir Edmund Hillary and Reinhold Messner
Two Rolex Mountain-Climbing Legends Together
Sir Edmund Hillary from New Zealand and Reinhold Messner from Italy are two of the greatest mountain-climbers that have ever lived. Sir Edmund Hillary was the first man to conquer Mt. Everest in 1953 and he was wearing his Rolex Oyster wristwatch.
Reinhold Messner was the first man to summit Everest without oxygen. He achieved this amazing feat in 1978, and when he came down the mountain, Sir Edmund Hillary was waiting to congratulate him and this photo was taken. Reinhold Messner was wearing his Rolex Oysterquartz when in 1978 when he first conquered Everest.
You have got to click on this image to see all the detail and read the story:
Update: Kristian Holm from Denmark who is reader of Jake's Rolex Watch Blog and he pointed out that in this next photo:
"It appears Sir Edmund Hillary is wearing a Rolex Oysterquartz 17013. I think it is a bit funny, that both Hillary and Reinhold Messner, 2 of the worlds best climbers, trust the Oyterquartz."
I agree Kristian and thank you for pointing this out. Indeed, Sir Edmund Hillary did wear a Rolex Oysterquartz for many years in his later life. Today Rolex no longer makes quartz watches, meaning watches that run on a battery. Maybe there is something to the quarts watches after all!?!
Pictured below is another Rolex ad featuring Reinhold Messner. It is ironic, if you think about it, that two of the greatest climbers in history preferred to wear Rolex watches that were Quartz!!! Maybe there is something to Quartz watches after all?
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