Trailblazers: foreword / Pascale Ehrenfreund

Mountains: the fourth dimension / Stefan Dech, Reinhold Messner, Nils Sparwasser

Of scientists and mountaineers: the making of this book / Stefan Dech, Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner. Kailash : Where the gods dance: history ; The jewel of snows: profile ; Milarepa: the secret of renunciation / Reinhold Messner

Mont Blanc : The birth of modern mountaineering: history ; The while alp: profile ; Ordeal on Mont Blanc / Pierre Mazeaud

Matterhorn : The end of innocence: history ; Between two worlds: profile ; Alone on the Matterhorn / Hervé Barmasse

Ushba : Double conquest: history ; Borders and borderlines: profile ; As dangerous as it gets / Adolf Schulze

Denali : The face of the midnight sun: history ; Exposed to extremes: profile ; On the roof of North America / Barbara Washburn

Aconcagua : The great face of the New World: history ; The forces of nature: profile ; No going back / Robert Paragot

Nanda Devi : The sacred double peak: history ; Risen from the ocean: profile ; The northwest face of Nanda Devi / John Roskelley

Mount Everest : A record in itself: history ; A mere moment of fame: profile ; Beyond our limits / Stephen Venables

K2 : Mountain of mountains: history ; Extreme in many ways: profile ; "I had the feeling I was being carried" / Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner

Dhaulagiri : the white mountain of the Himalayas: history ; White faces, rough climate: profile ; No impossible ways / Tomaz̆ Humar

Nanga Parbat : The king of mountains: history ; Growing higher: profile ; Beyond the "point of no return" / Sandy Allan

Annapurna : The "first eight-thousander": history ; Rainbows in the ice: profile ; The south face, Alpine style / Yannick Graziani

Masherbrum : A challenge for the future: history ; An insight into the Earth: profile ; We shall try again / Hansjörg Auer

Histories / Reinhold Messner

Profiles / Andreas Mulch and Nils Sparwasser

From data to images / Nils Sparwasser.