"Swiss Machine" dies on Everest

The world’s highest peak has claimed another victim. Swiss climber Ueli Steck died in an extremely grisly accident - reports are he fell over 1000 feet and his body was in pieces.

On Facebook, some people were speculating on foul play (Steck had been involved in a violent conflict with Sherpas years earlier), but most reports say this was clearly an accident…

It’s worse than you think. 1000 meters - 3,280 feet!

:smack:

It wasn’t Everest but nearby mountain Nuptse. He was in training for a traverse between Everest and Lhotse.

Damn. Super guy, one of the most talented modern climbers.
Here he is on the Eiger:

This wouldn’t happen if they just put up a chairlift!

That’s Nuptse!

Huh. 1000 meters is more than twice the height of the Sears/Willis Tower in Chicago. A quick google later and it probably took about 15 seconds to fall that distance. That’s assuming an unobstructed fall and not bouncing off the landscape.

I’m hoping that when the end did come it was quick and he didn’t suffer pain.

Having never heard of him I looked at a Youtube video:


Frankly this looks very dangerous (compared to the ropes, etc of traditional mountain climbing).

I wonder how long it would take before the number of lives saved by the chairlift caught up to the number that would be lost in constructing it?

[Yeah I know you’re not serious]

“Never took risks”.

That just shows how risk can be perceived so differently depending on what you have become accustomed to.

Terrible news. Ueli would be a strong candidate for “greatest mountaineer of the past 25 years”.

His 2013 solo climb of Annapurna’s south face might be the most impressive mountaineering feat ever.

The article linked in the OP says “He was never aggressive in taking risks”.

Yep. I was conflating the comment made by someone else with his own comment that he “never risks [his] life”. The point still stands. His perception of risk was obviously very different from mine. Not a criticism of him, just an observation on how different we all are.

I miss ralph. He made for some good readin’!

Given the nature of aerodynamic drag, I’m not sure the impact velocity is a whole lot different in either case.

Yeah, terminal velocity is terminal velocity. The “worse” part might be the fear and anticipation of hitting the ground with a longer fall.