Legendary Swiss climber Ueli Steck dies on Mount Everest

Science

Legendary Swiss climber Ueli Steck dies on Mount Everest

A Swiss climber acclaimed for his rapid ascents — including scaling dozens of peaks in the Alps in a little more than two months — was killed Sunday in a mountaineering accident near Mount Everest in Nepal, expedition organizers said. Ueli Steck was climbing alone when he “had an accident” and was killed at Camp 1 of Mount Nuptse, Mingma Sherpa of Seven Summit Treks said. The 40-year-old was on Everest to acclimate before attempting in May to summit the world’s tallest peak followed by neighboring Lhotse, connecting a series of ridges to design a never before climbed route.

Steck, also known as “the Swiss Machine” for his record solo ascents in the Alps, was attempting to achieve another first this year by charting a rarely climbed route to summit both Everest and Lhotse, the world’s fourth highest mountain, all without the use of supplemental oxygen. He was the first casualty in the spring mountaineering season in Nepal, which began in March, and will end in May. Hundreds of foreign climbers are on the mountains to attempt to scale Himalayan peaks in May when there are a few windows of favorable weather. The acclaimed climber suffered a setback during his last trip to Everest, in 2013, when he became involved in a violent altercation with a group of local guides and swore he would never return to Everest. Steck spoke to Swiss daily Tages-Anzeiger paper about the upcoming expedition in an interview last month.