Ueli Steck
Swiss mountaineer and rock climber (1976–2017)
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Key Takeaways
- Ueli Steck ( Alemannic German: [ˈuεli ʃtɛk] ; 4 October 1976 – 30 April 2017) was a Swiss rock climber and alpinist.
- His claim to have climbed Annapurna solo via its South Face is disputed.
- Steck died after a fall while trying to ascend the north face of Nuptse.
- As an 18-year-old he climbed the North Face of the Eiger and the Bonatti Pillar in the Mont Blanc massif.
- 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.
Ueli Steck (Alemannic German: [ˈuεli ʃtɛk]; 4 October 1976 – 30 April 2017) was a Swiss rock climber and alpinist. He set speed records on the North Face trilogy in the Alps. His claim to have climbed Annapurna solo via its South Face is disputed. He won two Piolet d'Or awards, in 2009 and 2014. Steck died after a fall while trying to ascend the north face of Nuptse.
Climbing 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 and Stephan Siegrist climbed the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau within 25 hours. 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 (6,440 m) and the east wall of Taboche (6505 m).
Steck set his first speed record on the North Face of the Eiger in 2007, climbing it in 3 hours and 54 minutes. The record was lowered by Steck himself to 2 hours 47 minutes 33 seconds the following year.
In May 2008, climbing Annapurna, he broke off his ascent due to an avalanche threat, but the next week climbed to assist Spanish climber Iñaki Ochoa de Olza, who had collapsed. Medical help was slow in coming and the Spanish climber died despite Steck's help.
In 2008, Steck was the first recipient of the Eiger Award for his mountaineering achievements.
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