Ueli Steck - Conqueror of the impossible - Portrait of a Julbo Ambassador

Ueli Steck

Following in the footsteps of Boivin, Profit and Escoffier, the pioneers of fast and light mountaineering, Ueli Steck is taking the discipline to the very highest level and revolutionizing it even further.

With his Trek sunglasses, designed by him to support his express climbs and provide faultless protection, the Swiss Machine hit the headlines once again in October 2013 by opening a new route on the south face of Annapurna (8091 m) in a solo round trip of just 28 hours without  oxygen. An exploit that won him his second Piolet d’Or, the highest mountaineering award. Ueli Steck? Conqueror of the impossible.

This guy has done it all. The Alps with north face enchainments in record time: Eiger, Mönch, Jungfrau, Grandes Jorasses, Matterhorn and Les Droites. The Himalayas where he linked up a series of firsts and pummeled the stopwatch: Pumori, Cholatse, Tawoche, Tengkampoche, Gasherbrum II, Shisha Pangma and Cho Oyu. And then Annapurna.

List of accomplishment:
  • 2014: Second Piolet d’Or for the Swiss Machine
  • 2014: First winter enchainment of the three north faces of Tre Cime in a time of 15:42
  • 2013: Annapurna (8091 m), first south face ascent and in 28 hrs.
  • 2012: Everest (8848 m)
  • 2011: Shisha Pangma south face (8027 m) in 10:05 and Cho Oyu (8201 m)
  • 2011: Cholatse north face (6440 m)
  • 2010: Karl Unterkircher Award for his extraordinary versatility
  • 2010: El Capitan, Nose route in 3:45
  • 2010: Les Droites north face, record time in 2:08
  • 2009: Gasherbrum II (8035 m), first summit of more than 8000 m
  • 2009: Matterhorn, Schmid route in 1:56 and record ascent of the three great Alpine north faces (Eiger, Grandes Jorasses and Matterhorn)
  • 2008: Grandes Jorasses, Colton-Macintyre route in 2:21
  • 2008: 2008 Prix Courage for rescue efforts when ascending the south face of Annapurna
  • 2008: First alpine-style ascent of Tengkampoche north face with Simon Anthamatten (6500 m) and 2009 Piolet d’Or
  • 2008: Eiger north face, record ascent in a time of 2:47:332
  • 006: First east face ascent of Gasherbrum II (7772 m)
  • 2005: First ascent of Tawoche (6506 m)
  • 2005: Cholatse north face (6640 m), first solo ascent in 37 hrs.
  • 2004: Enchainment of Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau north faces in 25 hrs.
  • 2002: Mount Dickey, first west face ascent
  • 2001: Pumori (7161 m), first west face ascent
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