Many Americans got their first glimpse of Ueli Steck in the 2010 short film “The Swiss Machine,” which depicts Steck speed-climbing the North Face of the Eiger, as well as the Nose on El Capitan, in Yosemite. This short video consists of excerpts from that film. I approached Steck almost a year ago, in the hope he’d allow me to write a Profile of him, but he was hard to pin down. The media in Europe, where climbing is a big sport (Americans tend to consider it an esoteric and lunatic pursuit), keeps him busy enough, as does his brutal training regimen. Nonetheless, he finally agreed to see me in March, and told me secretly of his plans to put together a new route on Everest this spring. While I waited to see whether he’d succeed, the news came in from Nepal that Steck and his partners had been involved in a brawl with some Sherpas on Everest. The confrontation and its aftermath changed Steck’s life, and my story.
Read Nick Paumgarten’s piece about Ueli Steck, “The Manic Mountain,” in this week’s issue.
Visit our new video hub, featuring profiles, commentary, and interviews including New Yorker cartoonist Liam Walsh on his creative process, a montage of historical anti-drug TV campaigns, and a visit to a facility that breeds half-wild cats.
