Every rope tells a story.
16.05. – 08.11.2026 Corones
In spring 2026, the art project “Connected with” was created at MMM Corones in collaboration with South Tyrolean artist Hubert Kostner. Spanning several levels, an installation has grown inside the museum, entirely based on an element of traditional mountaineering: the climbing rope.
"A rope.
Nothing more than fibres, twisted, braided, knotted.
And yet – it bears, it holds, it connects. It stretches between two points, two ends, two people. It pulls. It secures. And can simultaneously bind. So down-to-earth and yet so deeply symbolic."
Your rope tells a story
The rope is the strongest social component, and that’s what we want to discuss in our new project at the MMM Corones:
In spring 2026, the installation "Connected with" was created at the Messner Mountain Museum Corones in collaboration with South Tyrolean artist Hubert Kostner. Over several levels inside the museum, a work of art has grown based on an element of traditional mountaineering: the climbing rope.
For this, we collected used ropes – ropes that have already experienced heights, paths, emotions and personal chapters. They were provided to us by visitors, mountain enthusiasts as well as experienced mountaineers. Each submitted rope is now part of a large collective artwork.
Alongside this, mountaineers and the artist himself were interviewed on the theme of "rope". These conversations resulted in a film that will be shown in the museum cinema. There is also an interactive area where visitors can become part of the installation themselves using pieces of rope and knots.
The artist Hubert Kostner, born in 1971 in Brixen and now living in Kastelruth, works in his pieces with shifts, transformations and a subtle, often ironic engagement with our perception. Everyday materials from his surroundings are detached from their original meanings and made newly accessible – including the ropes in this project.
Join us!
Experience the opening of "Connected with" at MMM Corones and discover the project together with artist Hubert Kostner, Philipp Egger, and Magdalena Messner. Enjoy insights into the creation of the installation, a screening of the accompanying film, and light refreshments afterwards.
"As a special rope, I am giving away our summit rope from 16.8.1986. This was used by Sigi to ensure safety during the ascent of my first eight-thousander."
"There are several ropes that have been used in the Alps and in the climbing hall."
"I climbed Bombardino 9a+ in Arco with the rope."
"Babsi and I have just completed the first free ascent of ‘Next Generation’ 8b+, a six-pitch route on the Zwölferkof in Bürs."
"Ropes in the background naturally serve their purpose. They hold when necessary and almost always provide inner security. That's what's great about them."
"The rope looks like it’s from a summer mountain guide season (approx. 3 months), quite fuzzy and worn out."
"…a special rope. From the Choktoi Ri South Pillar. One of my best performances on the mountain. The Big Easy route."
"Toni (Schwienbacher) and I have climbed many mountains with these ropes between 2000 and 2012: Ortler, Vertainspitze, Langkofen and Tre Cime di Lavaredo, to name just the most important ones."
"Walter (Kaserer) and I have climbed many mountains with these ropes between 2000 and 2012: Ortler, Vertainspitze, Langkofen and Tre Cime di Lavaredo, to name just the most important ones."
"We are giving away an unused rope that has been sitting in the basement for 15-20 years. I would be happy if it could find another use. I wouldn’t climb with it anymore."
"First climbing rope of the AVS Youth Section Leader."
"Rope about 50 years old, climbed via ferratas with my father."
"This was my first rope, which I bought in 1975. It accompanied me for years on my first climbing and high-altitude tours."
"An unused rope from the Nals gymnasium."
"Rope from 1963."
"Carved out of the ice by Bernd Arnold (fragment) by Lionel Terray from the first ascent of Fitz Roy (1952). Bernd Arnold is joining in! A twisted rope! "
"My 'Tata' He loved the mountains dearly, which shaped our lives in our mountain home. For him, too, the energy required to conquer a summit, the endurance to see the journey itself as the goal, the courage to explore new paths, the patience to hike in a group without worrying about time or distance, the sense of community that lets you enjoy the wonderful mountain moments with others. He passed away on 23 December 2025."
"The rope was given to me by Robert Renzler, who later became Secretary-General of the Austrian Alpine Club. It must have been after we had climbed the Comici route on the Große Zinne together. One of my next climbing trips took me to the Ostriss on the Martinswand near Innsbruck with this rope. The route had been renovated shortly before. Suddenly, a piton was a half-metre higher up. At that time, it was not unusual to use a bold grip on the piton for movement. After the renovation, I could no longer reach the piton. When I had once complained to Robert about this, the surprise was great when, on my next attempt on the Ostriss, I found a cord with a note attached at the spot in question that read: ‘For Charly’."
"Here are a couple of key details about my green rope. This Salewa rope was my first thin (and therefore light!) single rope. Initially, it was 70 metres long, but today it is barely longer than 40 metres. Since the rope ends have frayed over the years, I have gradually shortened the rope (which is common when climbing). The rope was used in around 10 first ascents in Oman (at Jabal Misht & at Jabal Kawr) as well as on many Dolomites routes and on my first expedition to Kangshar Kang (7,485 m) in Nepal. This rope holds great significance for me, as it was a loyal companion for many years and in some dicey situations (including an avalanche on Kangshar Kang, in which my partner Philipp Prünster and I were caught). But now it has served its purpose – there comes a time when it’s all over, and 44 metres is arguably a good age to retire."
"The rope is one of the most important tools for me when mountaineering. It is a loyal companion, a symbol of trust and security; literally, my life and that of my climbing partner depend on it. This rope was used on the following climbing routes:
• 15.08.24 Torre Vallaccia - spigolo dei fassani 9-/600 m
• 03.08.24 Tabarettapfeiler/Ortler - Ortler-express 7a+/600m
• 10.05.24 Cima Capi - via del Grola 8-/800m 2nd ascent of the route
• 12.08.23 Tribulaun - Nervenspiel 7/450m 1st ascent of the route
• 10.06.23 Santnerbauch - Der fliegende Milchmann 8-/270m 1st ascent of the route
• 30.07.22 Furchetta - Weg der Zeit 7/750m
• 28.08.21 Kirchtagweide/Latemar - Klara Führe 6b/300m First ascent by me
• 02.07.22 Heiligkreuzkofel - Perla preziosa 9+/375m
• 2022/23 Pfattner Wände - Gloria in excelsis 9-/335m First ascent by me"
"Owning a rope was something special in my younger years; often I had to find a ROPE partner who already had one. When I was finally able to buy my first rope, I was very proud and took good care of it. On the Marmolada north face, I thought it was too precious, so we climbed the face without a rope. Crampons are, after all, not ideal for ropes. Soon after, my friend Franz and I climbed the König north face. Somehow it wasn’t my day, and I arrived at the summit completely exhausted—so exhausted that I would have left my precious rope behind. Franz carried it back down for me. Since I’ve kept a logbook from my first mountain tours, I can now tell you (Hubert Kostner) that I climbed the König north face on 13.07.85. Time taken for the climb: 6.5 hours. I probably bought the rope in autumn 1984."
"Here’s a story: We four colleagues (Lang Walter, +Thomas Mayr, Albert Rier and myself) bought the rope in the year 2000! Before that, we had already climbed the Großglockner and Ortler – albeit with sparse rope supplies and not entirely without accidents. Our friend (and former co-worker in Kastelruth), Bernhard Holzer, inspired these mountain tours. With him and other friends, we’ve undertaken multi-day treks every August; in the past (oops, that slipped my mind) ... in the past more challenging ones – descending from the Ortler – today more leisurely ones. Since the far too early (freedom) death of my best friend Walter, we haven’t used the rope anymore. When I saw Hubert Kostner’s appeal, I thought this was a fitting opportunity to put the rope (which has been lying unused for years) to good use. My intention is to preserve/display this rope in the MMM Corones in the manner Hubert Kostner envisaged, in memory of a wonderful, sensitive (perhaps too sensitive for this world) person and fellow mountaineer, preferably accompanied by this story. Thank you for this initiative."
"Rope break: Among alpinists, a rope break is dreaded – the vital connection to your climbing partner that suddenly snaps. The rope is the lifeline on exposed rock faces; a break after a fall inevitably leads to a fall. At the Yellow Nose of the Langkofel, the steepest, north-facing section of the Dolomites’ giant, Titus Prinoth and I experienced just how narrow the line is between success and tragedy in the mountains. On 28 July 2015, we set off early in the morning. We noticed we had forgotten the quickdraws. These are needed to clip the rope into the anchors and ensure smooth rope movement. Our motivation outweighed our common sense. We improvised makeshift quickdraws from loose karabiners and a few slings, but there were far too few. In the first, relatively easy pitches, this was not a problem, as protection points are rarely needed there. In the first difficult pitch, the situation changed. We traversed a few metres below a yellow roof to overcome it at its weakest point. The rock was partly brittle, good holds were scarce, and normal pitons were frequent but of uncertain quality. I managed to get over the roof, but then my arms grew tired and the quickdraws ran out. The rope pulled downwards, and the missing slings made themselves felt through increased friction. The moment came to make a desperate dash upwards towards supposedly good holds. But they did not materialise; instead, there was another fall onto the rope. I was stopped unusually abruptly. I noticed that the rope had sustained significant damage – due to the unfavourable rope path, it had been half worn through at a sharp edge. Fortunately, we always climb such routes with twin ropes; the second rope remained undamaged and allowed us to rappel down the route."
A big thank you also goes to:
• Siegfried Kerschnamer
• Salewa Climbing Hall Bolzano
• AVS Mountain Rescue
• Rockarena Merano
• Philipp Kneringer
• Klara Kneringer
• OnSight Climbing & Mountain Sports Zams
• Max Bolland
• Ernst Vogt
• Anonymous rope donors
"As a special rope, I am giving away our summit rope from 16.8.1986. This was used by Sigi to ensure safety during the ascent of my first eight-thousander."
"There are several ropes that have been used in the Alps and in the climbing hall."
"I climbed Bombardino 9a+ in Arco with the rope."
"Babsi and I have just completed the first free ascent of ‘Next Generation’ 8b+, a six-pitch route on the Zwölferkof in Bürs."
"Ropes in the background naturally serve their purpose. They hold when necessary and almost always provide inner security. That's what's great about them."
"The rope looks like it’s from a summer mountain guide season (approx. 3 months), quite fuzzy and worn out."
"…a special rope. From the Choktoi Ri South Pillar. One of my best performances on the mountain. The Big Easy route."
"Toni (Schwienbacher) and I have climbed many mountains with these ropes between 2000 and 2012: Ortler, Vertainspitze, Langkofen and Tre Cime di Lavaredo, to name just the most important ones."
"Walter (Kaserer) and I have climbed many mountains with these ropes between 2000 and 2012: Ortler, Vertainspitze, Langkofen and Tre Cime di Lavaredo, to name just the most important ones."
"We are giving away an unused rope that has been sitting in the basement for 15-20 years. I would be happy if it could find another use. I wouldn’t climb with it anymore."
"First climbing rope of the AVS Youth Section Leader."
"Rope about 50 years old, climbed via ferratas with my father."
"This was my first rope, which I bought in 1975. It accompanied me for years on my first climbing and high-altitude tours."
"An unused rope from the Nals gymnasium."
"Rope from 1963."
"Carved out of the ice by Bernd Arnold (fragment) by Lionel Terray from the first ascent of Fitz Roy (1952). Bernd Arnold is joining in! A twisted rope! "
"My 'Tata' He loved the mountains dearly, which shaped our lives in our mountain home. For him, too, the energy required to conquer a summit, the endurance to see the journey itself as the goal, the courage to explore new paths, the patience to hike in a group without worrying about time or distance, the sense of community that lets you enjoy the wonderful mountain moments with others. He passed away on 23 December 2025."
"The rope was given to me by Robert Renzler, who later became Secretary-General of the Austrian Alpine Club. It must have been after we had climbed the Comici route on the Große Zinne together. One of my next climbing trips took me to the Ostriss on the Martinswand near Innsbruck with this rope. The route had been renovated shortly before. Suddenly, a piton was a half-metre higher up. At that time, it was not unusual to use a bold grip on the piton for movement. After the renovation, I could no longer reach the piton. When I had once complained to Robert about this, the surprise was great when, on my next attempt on the Ostriss, I found a cord with a note attached at the spot in question that read: ‘For Charly’."
"Here are a couple of key details about my green rope. This Salewa rope was my first thin (and therefore light!) single rope. Initially, it was 70 metres long, but today it is barely longer than 40 metres. Since the rope ends have frayed over the years, I have gradually shortened the rope (which is common when climbing). The rope was used in around 10 first ascents in Oman (at Jabal Misht & at Jabal Kawr) as well as on many Dolomites routes and on my first expedition to Kangshar Kang (7,485 m) in Nepal. This rope holds great significance for me, as it was a loyal companion for many years and in some dicey situations (including an avalanche on Kangshar Kang, in which my partner Philipp Prünster and I were caught). But now it has served its purpose – there comes a time when it’s all over, and 44 metres is arguably a good age to retire."
"The rope is one of the most important tools for me when mountaineering. It is a loyal companion, a symbol of trust and security; literally, my life and that of my climbing partner depend on it. This rope was used on the following climbing routes:
• 15.08.24 Torre Vallaccia - spigolo dei fassani 9-/600 m
• 03.08.24 Tabarettapfeiler/Ortler - Ortler-express 7a+/600m
• 10.05.24 Cima Capi - via del Grola 8-/800m 2nd ascent of the route
• 12.08.23 Tribulaun - Nervenspiel 7/450m 1st ascent of the route
• 10.06.23 Santnerbauch - Der fliegende Milchmann 8-/270m 1st ascent of the route
• 30.07.22 Furchetta - Weg der Zeit 7/750m
• 28.08.21 Kirchtagweide/Latemar - Klara Führe 6b/300m First ascent by me
• 02.07.22 Heiligkreuzkofel - Perla preziosa 9+/375m
• 2022/23 Pfattner Wände - Gloria in excelsis 9-/335m First ascent by me"
"Owning a rope was something special in my younger years; often I had to find a ROPE partner who already had one. When I was finally able to buy my first rope, I was very proud and took good care of it. On the Marmolada north face, I thought it was too precious, so we climbed the face without a rope. Crampons are, after all, not ideal for ropes. Soon after, my friend Franz and I climbed the König north face. Somehow it wasn’t my day, and I arrived at the summit completely exhausted—so exhausted that I would have left my precious rope behind. Franz carried it back down for me. Since I’ve kept a logbook from my first mountain tours, I can now tell you (Hubert Kostner) that I climbed the König north face on 13.07.85. Time taken for the climb: 6.5 hours. I probably bought the rope in autumn 1984."
"Here’s a story: We four colleagues (Lang Walter, +Thomas Mayr, Albert Rier and myself) bought the rope in the year 2000! Before that, we had already climbed the Großglockner and Ortler – albeit with sparse rope supplies and not entirely without accidents. Our friend (and former co-worker in Kastelruth), Bernhard Holzer, inspired these mountain tours. With him and other friends, we’ve undertaken multi-day treks every August; in the past (oops, that slipped my mind) ... in the past more challenging ones – descending from the Ortler – today more leisurely ones. Since the far too early (freedom) death of my best friend Walter, we haven’t used the rope anymore. When I saw Hubert Kostner’s appeal, I thought this was a fitting opportunity to put the rope (which has been lying unused for years) to good use. My intention is to preserve/display this rope in the MMM Corones in the manner Hubert Kostner envisaged, in memory of a wonderful, sensitive (perhaps too sensitive for this world) person and fellow mountaineer, preferably accompanied by this story. Thank you for this initiative."
"Rope break: Among alpinists, a rope break is dreaded – the vital connection to your climbing partner that suddenly snaps. The rope is the lifeline on exposed rock faces; a break after a fall inevitably leads to a fall. At the Yellow Nose of the Langkofel, the steepest, north-facing section of the Dolomites’ giant, Titus Prinoth and I experienced just how narrow the line is between success and tragedy in the mountains. On 28 July 2015, we set off early in the morning. We noticed we had forgotten the quickdraws. These are needed to clip the rope into the anchors and ensure smooth rope movement. Our motivation outweighed our common sense. We improvised makeshift quickdraws from loose karabiners and a few slings, but there were far too few. In the first, relatively easy pitches, this was not a problem, as protection points are rarely needed there. In the first difficult pitch, the situation changed. We traversed a few metres below a yellow roof to overcome it at its weakest point. The rock was partly brittle, good holds were scarce, and normal pitons were frequent but of uncertain quality. I managed to get over the roof, but then my arms grew tired and the quickdraws ran out. The rope pulled downwards, and the missing slings made themselves felt through increased friction. The moment came to make a desperate dash upwards towards supposedly good holds. But they did not materialise; instead, there was another fall onto the rope. I was stopped unusually abruptly. I noticed that the rope had sustained significant damage – due to the unfavourable rope path, it had been half worn through at a sharp edge. Fortunately, we always climb such routes with twin ropes; the second rope remained undamaged and allowed us to rappel down the route."
A big thank you also goes to:
• Siegfried Kerschnamer
• Salewa Climbing Hall Bolzano
• AVS Mountain Rescue
• Rockarena Merano
• Philipp Kneringer
• Klara Kneringer
• OnSight Climbing & Mountain Sports Zams
• Max Bolland
• Ernst Vogt
• Anonymous rope donors