Swiss alpinist and Suunto Ambassador Ueli Steck has climbed the Ginat route on the 4001m Les Droites peak above Chamonix, France in what is probably record time.
Setting off on January 19, Steck climbed the 1000m-high face solo, reaching the summit in 2hr 8min, as recorded by his Suunto Core. The going was by no means easy with powder snow slowing the 30-year-old down on some sections.
Photographer Jonathan Griffith said that Steck climbed the route for fun, not speed. Prior to the ascent, Steck had neither alpine climbed for two months, or fully acclimatized.
“There was no track and the route had not seen an ascent yet this year,” Griffith wrote on his blog. “Once up on the headwall Ueli picked up speed again and cruised through the difficulties. Thin ice on the final pitch of the headwall forced him to take the harder mixed variation which 1000m off the deck is a serious proposition.
“As we sat barely 100m away in a helicopter filming, even Pascal Brun, the legendary heli pilot from Chamonix who must have seen everything there is to see in the Alps, commented about how amazingly agile and at home he looked on even this hard section.”
The previous fastest recorded ascent of the Ginat route was made by French mountaineer Christophe Profit who conquered the climb in 2hr 30min.
For more information check www.uelisteck.ch and Jonathan Griffith’s website www.alpineexposures.com.
Check also Ueli's ambassador profile here.
Images by Jonathan Griffith