Despite massive snowfall and prevalent risk of avalanche in the Himalaya region, Swiss climber Ueli Steck has successfully summited the world’s highest mountain, and he’s made it to the top without the use of supplementary oxygen.
The 35-year-old mountaineer summited Mount Everest during the afternoon of Friday, May 18th, after a final push via the mountain’s southeast ridge in the early hours of Friday morning. Success came after Steck’s failed attempt of Everest last year, where he was forced to turn back a mere 100 metres from the summit.
‘To climb tall mountains means patience, waiting and taking off when the conditions are right’, said Steck. ‘Everest is nothing like any of the other expeditions I’ve been on so I focused on keeping my motivation and energy up, and I am happy to have successfully stood on another peak and made it back down in good health’.
The Mountain Hardwear athlete left Base Camp on May 15th, accompanied by climbing partner Tenzing, before heading to Camp 2 and on to the South Col two days later. In preparation for his ascent, Ueli joined athlete Freddie Wilkinson for an acclimatisation trip on Lobuche Peak earlier this spring, but the pair were foiled by bad weather, rendering the faces of Cholatse and Tawoche in deep snow. Forced to change their route, instead heading to the southwest ridge of Ama Dablam, the duo ended the trip early, with Steck heading straight to Everest.