Ueli Steck breaks Grandes Jorasses speed climbing record

January 2009

Rounding off a hat-trick of records, Swiss alpinist Ueli Steck has now claimed a new fastest time of 2hr 21min for ascending the North face of the Grandes Jorasses peak in the Mont Blanc massif on the French/ Italian border.

The super fast ascent means the 32-year-old now has the speed climbing records on all three major European North faces. In February 2008, Steck reached the summit of the Eiger in Switzerland in just 2hr 47min 33sec, and two years prior in March 2006, he climbed the Bonatti route on the Matterhorn's North face in 25 hours.

Using mainly the Colton-Macintyre route on Grandes Jorasses, Steck set off early on December 28, 2008 with a minimal amount of equipment including a 50m rope, two ice screws, four caribiners, one belay, two normal pitons and two Suunto Core watches to measure his time and update himself on his altitude progress.

While conditions on the 1100m high wall were cold, the weather was good and allowed for quick climbing. Adding to the challenge was the fact that Steck had never seen or climbed the route before, something he describes as "important for his development as a mountaineer."

According to Steck, the final 350m were the "most demanding", and included overhanging sections. Despite this, he climbed the entire route without using his rope or other protection.

The remarkable achievement sits alongside Steck's other great climbs and cements his reputation as one of the most important climbers of his generation.

Visit www.uelisteck.ch for more information.

Photo credits: Jonathan Griffith