Ueli Steck
Which Suunto products are you using?
Suunto Elementum, Core and t6d heart rate monitor.
What's the best thing about your Suunto?
I like the t6d. It's the perfect to control my training. With the Core that's just straight forward like it should be for the mountains.
Most memorable sporting moment?
In January 2009 I finished my speed trilogy with getting the speed record on the Matterhorn. On the way down I met Simon Anthamatten at the Solvay Hut. That was a great moment: to meet a friend right after a very successful project.
Another strong moment was when I climbed solo on Makalu. I remember being on the summit ridge in waistdeep snow. The experience of being up there between 8300 meters above seas level and the summit at 8463 means you know exactly that there is only you and the mountain. Nobody else. Alone at the top of the world. Nobody will rescue you because it is simply not possible. That was a very strong and good moment, but I was totally at my limit.
Story:
In July 2009, Swiss alpinist Ueli Steck ticked the next box in his huge list of achievements, reaching the summit of his first 8000m high peak: Gasherbrum II in Pakistan.
Steck, world famous for his record speed climbing exploits on the Eiger, Matterhorn and Grandes Jorasses mountains in Europe, said he was "very happy" about the Gasherbrum expedition. The 32-year-old had spent much of the Northern Hemisphere summer in the USA where he climbed the difficult 'Golden Gate' route on El Capitan in Yosemite national park.
"Though Gasherbrum II is a quite easy peak to climb and though the weather was very unstable, with high winds and a lot of precipitations, I could celebrate my first ascent on a peak over 8000 meters," Steck said.
However there wasn't too much time for celebrations.
"With a five-minute peak stop and the upcoming descent back to camp two, my euphoria was quite modest," Steck explains. "I had left camp two at 6500 meters on July 9 to head for the summit. I struggled through deep snow, which was either knee or hip deep."
"For 12 hours I dug myself through the snow. (Not too far from) the summit I was about to give up. 'What is this all about?' I asked myself after hours of tracking. 'I can't be so far anymore to the top', I thought, and mountaineering is just a matter of will."
"I told myself just to 'Move on'."
"When I finally reached the summit the wind was so strong, that I could stand only bent. Afterwards I was happy, that the weather conditions were so bad. With wind speeds of 50 to 60km/h, approximately minus 25°C and plenty of snow, I could test my equipment. And I know now, how fast I can climb in this altitude."
News! Ueli made another speed record in February 2010. Check it out in the sports news section here.
Watch the video of Ueli's "Speedclimbing Hat-Trick" at Suunto TV:
