Ueli Steck

Ueli Steck (; 4 October 1976 – 30 April 2017) was a Swiss rock climber and alpinist. He was the first to climb Annapurna solo via its South Face (though this is disputed by some), and set speed records on the North Face trilogy in the Alps. He won two Piolet d'Or awards, in 2009 and 2014. Having previously summitted Mount Everest, Steck died on 30 April 2017 after falling during an acclimatizing climb for an attempt on the Hornbein route on the West Ridge of Everest without supplemental oxygen. 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.