Ueli Steck
Most climbers need at least two days to conquer the mysterious and thrilling north face of the Eiger in the Alps, but Switzerland’s fastest climber, Ueli Steck, can do it in under three hours. And the north face of the Matterhorn, which most people spend all day climbing, Steck summited in just 1 hour and 56 minutes.
Besides being the fastest in his home country, what about the daunting north face of the Grandes Jorasses near Chamonix, France? Steck tackled it in just 2 hours and 21 minutes. His greatest strength is his focus,” says Stephan, Steck’s friend and climbing partner of ten years. “To reach that level and standard of climbing, you have to be focused.”
It’s not hard to find that climbers often criticize speed climbers from an aesthetic point of view. They say reducing the beauty of high mountains to the status of a racetrack goes against the freedom that so many climbers appreciate in the sport.
So far, Steck has successfully summited the three hardest north faces in the Alps—the Eiger, the Matterhorn, and the Grandes Jorasses—and set new speed records for each. On February 13, 2008, he broke the solo speed record for the traditional route on the north face of the Eiger with a time of 2 hours, 47 minutes, and 33 seconds, marking the first time he broke the Eiger speed record. On March 14, 2006, Steck summited the Matterhorn along its most technically challenging route in 25 hours. Although this wasn’t a new speed record for the north face of the peak, it was definitely the fastest time ever on that route. The route took five days to complete during its first ascent in 1965, and in 1994, French climber Catherine Destivelle set a solo speed record of three days for the route.
“Speed climbing is definitely not for me,” emphasizes Steck’s friend, Klauser. “But I think all climbing styles and techniques should be acknowledged and welcomed.” Even Steck admits that when he climbs quickly, it’s not necessarily to get closer to nature. “It attracts media attention,” he reveals. “Sponsors love it.”
After breaking the Eiger speed record for the first time in 2007, and summiting the Matterhorn and the Grandes Jorasses in February 2008 and January 2009 respectively, Steck realized that speed climbing could serve as a stepping stone to breaking new limits in mountaineering.
Steck said he wants to apply these speed climbing techniques to climbing peaks in the Himalayas. He pointed out, “Of course, doing what I do carries greater risks, but that’s what makes life more interesting.”
For Steck, the Grandes Jorasses had always been an unfulfilled dream—until he finally conquered it. On December 27, 2008, he pitched his small tent on a glacier not far from the north face of the Grandes Jorasses. After deciding to climb, he found that while his ice-climbing tools had good grip, the ice axes he carried front and back became increasingly cumbersome as he climbed higher. Due to the steepness of the cliff, using ice axes on such a rocky route felt awkward, and the cold made it impossible to remove his gloves. Steck had to rely on dry tooling techniques, and the difficulty increased the higher he went. After navigating overhanging sections, Steck began his final push, completing the entire route in 2 hours and 21 minutes, successfully conquering the Grandes Jorasses.
He used no ropes and no protection, except for two rock pitons required by the technical demands of the climb. Steck once again demonstrated his commitment to alpine-style climbing through his actions.
The only way out in the face of danger—is to keep climbing!
Like many climbers, Steck is very meticulous and quiet in daily life. He has a slender, muscular build. When he speaks, he sounds like a strategist, choosing his words carefully and striving for precision. Friends say his meticulousness is key to his success in breaking climbing records.
Despite his meticulousness, Steck can be terrifyingly bold. Steck has boldly claimed that climbing dangerous cliffs without ropes can actually be safe. “Climbing steep, smooth, unprotected cliffs isn’t actually the most dangerous part of climbing. Because you move slowly, and once you find your position, ensuring every grip and pause is solid is manageable.” Shortly after saying this, he showed highlights of his free solo climbs during a presentation near Zurich. “The most dangerous part is actually when you’re running up a slope quickly—because if you slip or trip, it’s all over,” Steck explained.
But a few years ago, Steck almost lost his life during a climb. He recalls that at around 6,000 meters altitude, a rock fell and hit him on the head, sending him tumbling down onto the glacier below. Fortunately, he miraculously survived. “That accident was a wake-up call, making me realize that danger can strike very suddenly. But I also had to realize that it was just bad luck, not me pushing myself too far—and that’s very important,” Steck said. He believes that properly scouting the terrain is an indispensable key in mountaineering. “If you look at a cliff and think falling from there would be no joke, you must focus, or you really will fall. So there’s only one way out—keep climbing.”