Ueli Steck

On April 30, 2017, on the flanks of Nuptse in Nepal, Ueli Steck fell while acclimatizing in preparation for his project to complete the Everest-Lhotse traverse without using supplemental oxygen.

Mountaineer, climber, and trail runner, Ueli specialized in solo speed ascents. From the Alps to the Himalaya, from the Eiger to Annapurna, he raced up summits at lightning speed, probably in a hurry to admire the view…

For several years running, the Swiss athlete was part of our international team of athletes. Whenever he could, he always enjoyed spending time with us. He participated in several brand events and Petzl films in recent years, such as the Scottish Ice Trip and Access the Inaccessible. Ueli also worked closely with the research and development team to fine tune lightweight mountaineering gear.

Ueli was an extraordinary mountaineer, climbing mountains in his own personal style, fully aware of the risks, but always stacking the deck in his favor by training like a professional athlete. He will forever belong to the tiny circle of those who broke the rules and established new boundaries. Yet, despite his world-renowned status, he always remained available, simple, and humble.

He was so incredibly inspiring, and now there is a huge void where he once stood.

Ueli, thank you for showing us that it is possible for our wildest dreams to indeed become a reality.

"My main source of inspiration is the desire to learn. Knowledge offers freedom. To gain knowledge, you have to learn. To be free, you need to be at ease, and to be at ease, you need to train, sometimes a lot. To become versatile at the highest level, you need to fully understand the ins and outs of the sport, you need to be passionate, and you especially need to accept that sometimes you're the student, or even a beginner, in order to continue to learn. This is the case in complementary and multi-faceted disciplines even if there is only one single objective: to succeed."

Videos

Video playlist featuring Ueli Steck

Publications

• Ueli Steck, Speed, ed. Paulsen-Guérin, 2014 
• Ueli Steck, 8000+, ed. Paulsen-Guérin, 2015 
• Ueli Steck, Une autre vie, ed. Paulsen-Guérin, 2017

Noteworthy accomplishments

• West face of Pumori (7161 m, Nepal), with Ueli Bühler, 2001.
• Mount Dickey (Alaska), 2001.
• North Face of the Eiger (Switzerland): "The Young Spider," with Stephan Siegrist, 2001.
• North Face of Jannu (Nepal): 2 attempts in 2003.
• North Face of the Eiger (Switzerland): "La Vida es Silbar," climbed free with Stephan Siegrist, 2003.
• North Faces of the Eiger, the Mönch, and the Jungfrau (Switzerland): linkup in less than 25 hrs, 2004.
• Wendenstöcke (Switzerland): "Silberfinger" and "Pilier Excalibur," free solo, 2004.
• North Face of the Eiger (Switzerland): solo ascent in winter, 2004.
• North Face of Cholatse (6440 m, Nepal): first ascent solo in 37hrs, 2005. 
• East Face of Tawoche (6505 m, Nepal): first ascent solo, 2005.
• North Face of the Eiger (Switzerland): "The Young Spider," second ascent and first solo ascent, 2006.
• North Face of the Eiger (Switzerland): "Via Diretissima," 2006.
• East Summit of Gasherbrum II (7710 m, Pakistan): "Magic Line," 2006.
• North Face of the Eiger (Switzerland): the "Heckmair Route" solo in 3hrs 54 min, 2007. 
• West Face of Pumori (7161 m, Nepal): solo ascent in 24hrs roundtrip, 2007.
• North Face of the Eiger (Switzerland): speed record solo in 2hrs 47 min and 33 sec, February 13, 2008.
• North Face of Tengkampoche (Nepal, 6500 m): “Checkmate" (2000m / altitude 6500m /VI, 85° ice, M7+ / 6A0), April 2008. Ueli Steck and Simon Anthamatten were awarded the 2009 Piolet d’Or for this first ascent. 
• Grandes Jorasses (France): "Colton Macintyre Route," speed record (2hrs 21min), 2009. 
• North Face of the Matterhorn (Italy): speed record (1hr 56 min) 2009.
• Yosemite (California, USA): "Golden Gate," and "California Sun," 2009.
• Gasherbrum II (8035 m, Pakistan), 2010.
• Makalu (8485 m, Nepal): solo ascent, 2010.
• Shisha Pangma (8013 m, Nepal): South Face ascent in a record time of 10 hrs 30 min, 2011.
• Eiger-Mönch-Jungfrau (Switzerland): linkup in less than 12 hours and descent from each summit via paraglider, 2012.
• Annapurna (8091, Nepal): solo ascent of the South Face in 28hrs, in 2013.
• European Alps: ascent of all 82 peaks over 4000m, from Piz Bernina to the Barre des Ecrins in 62 days without using motorized transportation, 2015.
• North Face of the Eiger (Switzerland): new speed record of 2hrs 22min 50sec, 2015.