Ueli Steck
Ueli Steck in 2012
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Ueli Steck |
| Main discipline | Mountaineering |
| Other disciplines | Carpentry |
| Born |
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.
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).
Steck set his first speed record on the North Face of 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 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.
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Wikipedia