Ueli Steck
Encyclopedia
Ueli Steck in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
) is a Swiss climber
Climbing
Climbing is the activity of using one's hands and feet to ascend a steep object. It is done both for recreation and professionally, as part of activities such as maintenance of a structure, or military operations.Climbing activities include:* Bouldering: Ascending boulders or small...
. He is also a skilled carpenter
Carpenter
A carpenter is a skilled craftsperson who works with timber to construct, install and maintain buildings, furniture, and other objects. The work, known as carpentry, may involve manual labor and work outdoors....
and lives in Ringgenberg
Ringgenberg
Ringgenberg is a municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is located on the northern shores of Lake Brienz. It has a small church that was built on the ruins of a castle in the 17th century....
in Interlaken
Interlaken
Interlaken is a municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the Canton of Bern in Switzerland, a well-known tourist destination in the Bernese Oberland.-History:...
.
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 EigerEiger
The Eiger is a mountain in the Bernese Alps in Switzerland. It is the easternmost peak of a ridge crest that extends across the Mönch to the Jungfrau at 4,158 m...
, and the Bonatti Pillar
Aiguille du Dru
The Aiguille du Dru is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif in the French Alps, lying to the east of the village of Les Praz in the Chamonix valley.The mountain has two summits:...
in the Mont Blanc massif
Mont Blanc Massif
The Mont Blanc massif is a mountain range in the western Alps. It is named after Mont Blanc, at 4,810.45 m the highest summit of the Alps. It is located in France , Italy , and Switzerland...
. In June 2004, he climbed the Eiger
Eiger
The Eiger is a mountain in the Bernese Alps in Switzerland. It is the easternmost peak of a ridge crest that extends across the Mönch to the Jungfrau at 4,158 m...
, Mönch
Mönch
The Mönch is a mountain in the Bernese Alps, in Switzerland. Together with the Eiger and the Jungfrau it forms a highly recognisable group of mountains visible from far away....
and Jungfrau
Jungfrau
The Jungfrau is one of the main summits in the Bernese Alps, situated between the cantons of Valais and Bern in Switzerland...
within 25 hours with Stephan Siegrist. Another success was the so-called Khumbu-Express 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
Cholatse
Cholatse is a mountain in the Khumbu region of the Nepalese Himalaya. Cholatse is connected to Taboche by a long ridge. The Chola glacier descends off the east face...
(6440 m) and the east wall of Taboche
Taboche
Taboche is a mountain in the Khumbu region of the Nepalese Himalaya. Taboche is connected to Cholatse by a long ridge...
(6505 m).
In 2007, whilst climbing up the direct line on the southern flank to the summit of Annapurna
Annapurna
Annapurna is a section of the Himalayas in north-central Nepal that includes Annapurna I, thirteen additional peaks over and 16 more over ....
in the Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
, 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
Iñaki Ochoa de Olza
Iñaki Ochoa de Olza was a Spanish mountaineer, alpinist and climber. Ochoa de Olza had taken part in over thirty separate climbing expeditions in the Himalayas over the course of his career, he was involved in more than 200 expeditions as guide and he climbed 15 moutains of over 8,000 meters...
, 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.
Climbing achievements
- 1995 Eiger north face, HeckmairAndreas HeckmairAndreas Heckmair was one of the four men who first climbed the north face of the Eiger in 1938....
route (1800m AS) - 1998 MönchMönchThe Mönch is a mountain in the Bernese Alps, in Switzerland. Together with the Eiger and the Jungfrau it forms a highly recognisable group of mountains visible from far away....
, HastonDougal HastonDougal Haston, , was a Scottish mountaineer born in Currie, on the outskirts of Edinburgh.-Climbing achievements:...
couloir, solo in 3.5 hours (AS-1000m) - 1999 Eiger northeast face (Lauper route), solo in 5 hours (AS-1800m)
- 2000 Eiger north face, Yeti route, second ascent (7c/A0)
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- Mönch north face, Direttissima, first ascent (1000m M5/Wi5)
- 2001 Grandes JorassesGrandes JorassesThe Grandes Jorasses is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif.The first ascent of the highest peak of the mountain was by Horace Walker with guides Melchior Anderegg, Johann Jaun and Julien Grange on 30 June 1868...
Walker Spur, winter ascent (1200m AS)
-
- PumoriPumoriPumori is a mountain on the Nepal-Tibet border in the Mahalangur section of the Himalaya. Pumori lies just eight kilometres west of Mount Everest. Pumori, which means "Unmarried Daughter" in the Sherpa language, was named by George Mallory...
west face, first ascent (1400m M4/80 degree ice) with Ueli Buhler - Eiger North Face, first ascent via "The Young Spider" (1800m M7/Wi6; 7a/A2)
- 2002 Mount DickeyMount DickeyMount Dickey is a peak on the west side of the Ruth Gorge in the Central Alaska Range of mountains, 12 miles southeast of Mount McKinley and 4 miles southwest of The Moose's Tooth...
, Alaska, east face, first ascent ("Blood from the Stone" route, 1700m M7 + AI6 5.9/A1) - 2002/03 Two attempts at JannuJannuJannu or Kumbhakarna is the 32nd highest mountain in the world. It is an important Western outlier of Kangchenjunga, the world's third highest peak. Jannu is a large and steep peak in its own right, and has numerous challenging climbing routes.The official name of this peak is Kumbhakarna, but the...
north face (7710m) Nepal, along with Erhard LoretanErhard LoretanErhard Loretan was a Swiss mountain climber.Loretan was born in Bulle in the canton of Fribourg. He trained as a cabinet-maker and mountain guide and began his climbing career at the age of 11... - 2003 Punta Heron (PatagoniaPatagoniaPatagonia is a region located in Argentina and Chile, integrating the southernmost section of the Andes mountains to the southwest towards the Pacific ocean and from the east of the cordillera to the valleys it follows south through Colorado River towards Carmen de Patagones in the Atlantic Ocean...
)
- 2002 Mount Dickey
- Eiger nort face, La vida es Silbar redpointed, (900m 7c)
- 2004 Trilogy Eiger, Mönch and JungfrauJungfrauThe Jungfrau is one of the main summits in the Bernese Alps, situated between the cantons of Valais and Bern in Switzerland...
(north faces) in 25 hours - 2005 (Khumbu-Express) First solo ascent of TabocheTabocheTaboche is a mountain in the Khumbu region of the Nepalese Himalaya. Taboche is connected to Cholatse by a long ridge...
east face (6515m) and CholatseCholatseCholatse is a mountain in the Khumbu region of the Nepalese Himalaya. Cholatse is connected to Taboche by a long ridge. The Chola glacier descends off the east face...
north face (6440 meters) - 2006 MatterhornMatterhornThe Matterhorn , Monte Cervino or Mont Cervin , is a mountain in the Pennine Alps on the border between Switzerland and Italy. Its summit is 4,478 metres high, making it one of the highest peaks in the Alps. The four steep faces, rising above the surrounding glaciers, face the four compass points...
north face, solo ascent
- 2004 Trilogy Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau
- Eiger north face, winter solo ascent of "The Young Spider"
- Gasherbrum IIGasherbrum IIGasherbrum II , also known as K4, is the 13th highest mountain on Earth, located on the border of Gilgit-Baltistan province, Pakistan and Xinjiang, China...
East (7772 m) NE face, first ascent- 2007 Eiger north face, Heckmair route, speed record in 3:54 hours, solo
- 2008 Eiger north face, Heckmair route, speed record in 2:47:33 hours, solo
- Grand Jorasses north face, Colton–McIntyre speed-record route in 2:21 hours, solo
- Tengkampoche north face (6500m, Nepal) with Simon Anthamatten, first ascent in alpine style (no bolts, no fixed ropes, four days for the ascent and descent), winner of the Piolet d'OrPiolet d'OrThe Piolet d'Or is an annual mountaineering award given by the French magazine Montagnes and The Groupe de Haute Montagne since 1991...
.- 2009 Matterhorn north face, Schmid route speed-record in 1:56 hours, solo
- Gasherbrum II, solo ascent
- MakaluMakaluMakalu is the fifth highest mountain in the world at and is located southeast of Mount Everest, on the border between Nepal and China...
, normal route- 2011 ShishapangmaShishapangmaXixabangma, frequently spelled Shishapangma or Shisha Pangma , also called Gosainthān , is the fourteenth-highest mountain in the world and, at 8,013 m , the lowest of the eight-thousanders...
south face solo in 10:30 hours.
- 2011 Shishapangma
- Cho OyuCho OyuCho Oyu is the sixth highest mountain in the world at above sea level. Cho Oyu lies in the Himalayas and is 20 km west of Mount Everest, at the border between China and Nepal...
summiting with Don BowieDon BowieDon Bowie is a professional high altitude climber from Ontario, Canada. Bowie’s climbing endeavors have taken him to the remotest regions of Nepal, Pakistan, Tibet, Africa, South America, Mexico, USA, and the high-arctic of Canada...
18 days after the Shishapangma solo ascent
- Pumori
Literature
- Gabriella Baumann von Arx: SOLO. Der Alleingänger Ueli Steck – Eine Nahaufnahme, Wörterseh, Gockhausen 2006. ISBN 3-033-00636-1 . ("The maverick Ueli Steck – A close-up")