Watch Ueli Steck Set New Eiger Speed Record

Ueli Steck has reclaimed the speed record for climbing the north face of the Eiger via the 1938 Heckmair Route.

He climbed the massive wall in two hours and 23 minutes, which beat Dani Arnold’s 2011 record of two hours and 28 minutes.

In 2007, Steck made headlines for claiming the record on the wall at a time of three hours and 54 minutes. On Nov. 11, Steck, along with Nicolas Hojac, set a new team speed record on the face of three hours and 26 minutes, which beat the 2011 record of four hours and 25 minutes.

After his climb, Steck said, “Now I know the difference between 2008 and 2015. Today I had a good track, good conditions and I was pulling some gear that made it quite safe and I believe it makes much more sense this way.

“It is a new record, but this was a result of the specific conditions. We can never compare ascents on a face like the Eiger. Conditions and weather are always different.

“But this is what makes alpinism interesting and unique. For me it is the personal challenge and your own experience that really matters.” For more stats on Steck’s most recent ascent, visit here.

The first ascent of the classic 1,800-metre route was in July 1938 by Heinrich Harrer, Anderl Heckmair, Fritz Kasparek and Wiggerl Vorg.

In 1950, Leo Forstenlechner and Erich Wascak set the first “speed” record of 18 hours. In 1974, Peter Habeler and Reinhold Messner climbed the wall in 10 hours. In 1981, Ueli Buhler soloed the route in only eight hours and 30 minutes, an impressive feat considering alpine climbing equipment was still heavy and hard to use.

A year later, Franc Knez climbed it in six hours and less than 12 months later, Thomas Bubendorfer claimed a time of four hours and 50 minutes. It wouldn’t be for another decade that Christoph Hainz, in 2003, climbed the route in four hours and 30 minutes. Then in 2007, Steck claimed his first record of three hours and 54 minutes, which he bested in 2008.