Climbing The Mönch With Ueli Steck

So what's a world class climber to do after having his Everest dreams crushed? Return home, rest up and then go play in the alps apparently.

After Ueli Steck left the Himalaya following his much publicized showdown with the Sherpas this spring, he went on radio silence. He, Simone Moro and Jonathan Griffin were threatened, beaten and generally harassed on Everest, forcing them to abandon their attempt at a new route. Once the situation calmed down, he and Griffin left Nepal and returned home to Europe, where Ueli has been careful with his comments on the delicate situation.

But as with all climbers, the mountains make everything better and it looks like he had the opportunity to stretch his legs a bit in the Alps this week. Jonathan joined him for a little speed-run up the Mönch, a 4107 meter (13,747 ft) peak that sits between the famous Jungfrau and the Eiger.

Jonathan writes in a blog post on Ueli's website that the Mönch isn't a particularly tough climb, but it is a long route. During their busy day in the Alps, the covered 3460 meters (11,351 ft) of vertical ascent and 18 km (11 miles) total distance. Best of all, they captured some great photos along the way, showing the Swiss Machine completely in his element. You can take a peek at them here.

It is good to see these two men get back to climbing. Lets hope we see them back in the Himalaya in the future as well.

Video: EpicTV Interviews Ueli Steck On Climbing And Paragliding The Alps

A couple of weeks back I posted a story about Ueli Steck's latest adventure in which he climbed three peaks in the Alps and paraglided off of them in the same day. On August 18, the Swiss climber first went up the Jungfrau, glided over to the Monch, summited and the flew to the Eiger. After a quick ascent of that classic peak, he then descended by paraglader and was home for dinner later that day. The whole expedition took in the neighborhood of 14 hours to complete, which sounds like quite the epic day.

Now, our friends over at EpicTV have posted an interview with Ueli in which he goes into detail about this little project. Steck talks about the conditions necessary for this type of endeavor, saying the weather needs to not only be good for climbing but flying as well, which adds another dimension to this challenge.

Listening to Ueli is always interesting, in part he comes across like he doesn't even know that he is Superman. He's quite nonchalant about his accomplishments and that is no different here. I also happen to love his "just do it" attitude and creativity in the mountains.

Another great interview from EpicTV. Keep up the great work guys!

Ueli Steck 3 Peaks from EpicTVAdventure on Vimeo.

Ueli Steck Climbs and Paraglides Three Classic European Mountains

In the world of mountaineering we can always trust Ueli Steck to come up with some unique and interesting projects. The Swiss mountaineer recently combined his climbing skills with a new found love of paragliding to string together three impressive climbs – and glides – in a single day of climbing in the Alps.

On August 18 Ueli started his day at 3AM by first climbing the Jungfrau (4158m/13,642 ft) along the Rotal Ridge Route. Just below the summit of that peak the then flew his paraglider over to the Mönch (4107m/13747 ft) North Face and climbed to the summit along the Lauper Route. Taking to the air once again, he then flew to the Eismeer Glacier on the Eiger (3970m/13,025 ft). He then proceed along the Mittelegi Ridge to the Mittelegi Hut for lunch, before climbing to the summit. Topping out at 3:13 PM, Ueli then descended to the Geneva Spur, launched his glider one final time and sailed down the Lauterbrunnen Valley, returning to his car by 5PM. How is that for one epic day?

You can read Ueli's entire trip report by clicking here. Updates are also promised on the Mountain Hardwear Faceboook page as well.

Ueli is quoted as saying "“It was a cool trip, just pack a backpack and go for a ride. That’s what I liked the most. There were no deposits or any support on the trip, just a nice lunch in the mountain hut. The combination of flying and climbing was just perfect. I had a great day.”

Sounds like the kind of effort that only one of the best mountaineers in the world could pull off. Great stuff.