Ueli Steck

Ueli Steck

Ueli Steck in 2012
Personal information
Full name	Ueli Steck
Main discipline	Mountaineering
Other disciplines	Carpentry
Born	(1976-10-04) October 4, 1976 Langnau im Emmental, Switzerland
Nationality	Swiss
Career
Starting age	17

Ueli Steck (born October 4, 1976 in Langnau im Emmental, Switzerland) is a Swiss rock climber and mountaineer.

He won two Piolet d'Or, in 2009 and 2014. He is also famous for his speed records on the North Face trilogy in the Alps.

Career

At the age of 17, Steck achieved the 9th difficulty rating (UIAA) in climbing. As an 18-year-old he climbed the north face of the Eiger, and the Bonatti Pillar in the Mont Blanc massif. In June 2004, he climbed the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau within 25 hours with Stephan Siegrist. Another success was the so-called "Khumbu-Express Expedition" in 2005, for which the climbing magazine Climb named him one of the three best alpinists in Europe. The project consisted of the first solo-climb of the north wall of Cholatse (6440 m) and the east wall of Taboche (6505 m).^[1]

Steck set his first speed record on the North Face of Eiger in 2007, climbing it in 3 hours and 54 minutes,^[2] the record was lowered by Steck himself to 2 hours 47 minutes 33 seconds the following year.^[3]

In 2007, while climbing up the direct line on the southern flank to the summit of Annapurna in the Himalayas, he was hit by a falling rock which smashed his helmet. He was knocked unconscious, slipped more than 200 feet, but survived with only bruises and a concussion. In May 2008, again climbing Annapurna, he broke off his ascent due to an avalanche threat, but the next week climbed to assist a Spanish climber Iñaki Ochoa de Olza, who had collapsed. Medical help was slow in coming and the Spanish climber died despite Steck's help.^[4][5]

In 2008, Steck was the first recipient of the Eiger Award for his mountaineering achievements.^[6]

In April 2013, Steck and two other mountaineers, Simone Moro and Jonathan Griffith, were involved in an altercation with local Sherpas while on the west face of Mount Everest which became an international media event.^{[7][8][9][10][11]}

In 2014 Steck made the first solo ascent of Annapurna, and he won his second Piolet d'Or.^[12] In the late 2015 he set a new record for the North Face of the Eiger, having soloed it in 2 hours 22 minutes and 50 seconds.^[2]

On April 27 2016, Steck and his German mountaineering partner, David Göttler, found the bodies of Alex Lowe and David Bridges. In 1999, both Lowe and Bridges were killed in an avalanche while Lowe attempted the first ski descent from Shishapangma.^[13]

Ueli Steck is a carpenter by training and lives in Ringgenberg near Interlaken.^[3]

Climbing achievements

Eiger north face, where Ueli Steck established his speed records and opened new hard routes

• 1995 Eiger north face, Heckmair route (1800 m)
• 1998 Mönch, Haston couloir, solo in 3.5 hours (1000 m)
• 1999 Eiger northeast face (Lauper route), solo in 5 hours (1800 m)
• 2000
  • Eiger north face, Yeti route, second ascent (7c/A0)
  • Mönch north face, Direttissima, first ascent (1000 m M5/Wi5)
• 2001
  • Grandes Jorasses Walker Spur, winter ascent (1200 m)
  • Pumori west face, first ascent (1400 m M4/80 degree ice) with Ueli Buhler
  • Eiger North Face, first ascent via "The Young Spider" (1800 m M7/WI6; 7a/A2)^[14]
• 2002 Mount Dickey, Alaska, east face, first ascent ("Blood from the Stone" route, 1700 m M7 + AI6 5.9/A1)^[15]
• 2002/03 Two attempts at Jannu north face (7710 m) Nepal, along with Erhard Loretan
• 2003
  • Punta Heron (Patagonia)
  • Eiger north face, La vida es Silbar redpointed, (900 m 7c)^[16]
  • Eiger north face, Paciencia, first ascent (900 m 8a) with Stephan Siegrist.^[17][18]
• 2004 Trilogy Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau (north faces) in 25 hours
• 2005 (Khumbu-Express) First solo ascent of Taboche east face (6515 m) and Cholatse north face (6440 m)
• 2006
  • Matterhorn north face, solo ascent
  • Eiger north face, winter solo ascent of "The Young Spider"^[14][19]
  • Gasherbrum II East (7772 m) NE face, first ascent ^[20]
• 2007 Eiger north face, Heckmair route, speed record in 3:54 hours, solo^[21]
• 2008
  • Eiger north face, Heckmair route, speed record in 2:47:33 hours, solo^[22][23]
  • Grandes Jorasses north face, Colton–McIntyre speed-record route in 2:21 hours, solo^[24]
  • Tengkampoche north face (6500 m, Nepal) with Simon Anthamatten, first ascent in alpine style (no bolts, no fixed ropes, four days for the ascent and descent),^[5][25] winner of the Piolet d'Or.^[26]
  • Eiger north face, Paciencia, first free ascent (900 m 8a) with Stephan Siegrist. This route represents the hardest rock climbing route on Eiger north face.^[17][18]
• 2009
  • Matterhorn north face, Schmid route speed-record in 1:56 hours, solo^[27][28]
  • Gasherbrum II, solo ascent^[29]
  • Makalu, normal route^[30]
• 2011
  • Shishapangma south face solo in 10:30 hours.^[31][32]
  • Cho Oyu, via the northwest face (normal route), 18 days after the Shishapangma solo ascent^[33]
• 2012, Everest, via the South Col - southeast ridge (normal route) without supplemental oxygen^[34]
• 2013, Annapurna, solo ascent via the south face^[35] in 28 hours, winner of the Piolet d'Or.^[36]
• 2015 Eiger north face, Heckmair route, speed record in 2:22:50 hours, solo^[37]
• 2016, Ueli Steck, Mathieu Maynadier and Jérôme Para climbed North Couloir Direct VI Al6+ M8 800 m on Les Drus. https://agilience.com/en/UeliSteck

Awards

• 2008 Eiger Award for his alpinistic performances^[6]
• 2009 Piolet d'Or for his new route on Tengkampoche north face with Simon Anthamatten^[26][38]
• 2010 Karl Unterkircher Award for his climbing versatility^[39][40]
• 2014 Piolet d'Or for his solo ascent of Annapurna south face ^[36]

References

Further reading

• Paumgarten, Nick (June 3, 2013). "The manic mountain : Ueli Steck and the clash on Everest". Annals of Adventure. The New Yorker. 89 (16): 46–55. 
• Steck, Ueli; Baumann-von Arx, Gabriella (2008). Solo: Der Alleingänger (in German). Piper Verlag GmbH. ISBN 978-3492403412. 
• Steck, Ueli (2010). Speed (in German). Piper Verlag GmbH. ISBN 978-3492403788. 
• Steck, Ueli (2012). 8000+: Aufbruch in die Todeszone (in German). Malik Verlag. ISBN 978-3890294070. 

External links

• Official website
• Biography on climbing.com