Swiss mountaineer Ueli Steck climbs mountains very, very fast. But he occasionally slows down enough for a speaking tour.
On Dec. 8, Steck will come to the Boulder Theater for a talk sponsored by the American Alpine Club.
Outdoors film-fest attendees might recognize Steck from climbing flicks by : Steck’s lightning-fast ascent of the Eiger, on one of Europe’s most notorious north-face routes, in “The Swiss Machine,” or his attempt on Mount Everest, during which a after Steck’s team climbed past Sherpas setting ropes (the Sherpas alleged Steck’s team knocked ice down on them), in “High Tension: Ueli Steck and the Clash on Everest.”
But in 2014, Steck’s rope-free, ultra-light and fast on a dangerous, never-before-completed route earned him mountaineering’s highest honor, the , and for 2014-15.
The Denver Post talked with Steck ahead of his visit to the U.S. about his climbing, seeking solitude in the mountains and his training.
Q: What do you plan to focus on for your talk in Colorado?
A: It’s about my whole career as a climber. I’ll be talking about speed climbing for sure, Everest, Annapurna.
Q: Why did you choose Annapurna as an objective last year?
A: It’s one of the last big lines that haven’t been done on 8,000-meter (26,200-foot) peaks. There are not so many routes left to do on 8,000-meter peaks, especially that are very hard.
Many people have tried it… It’s more interesting to try routes where people are not successful on the route — it means they’re difficult. A lot of climbers go to a really remote place where no one has ever been, and they go on a hard climb, but usually it’s not really a hard climb.
Q: Was it appealing in part because it’s way less crowded than Everest?
A: Everest… that’s just a different game. It’s just not alpine climbing any more.
I’m not saying there aren’t hard climbs on Everest, but the normal route on Everest — I don’t know, it’s a hike in thin air.
Q: How did speed soloing become your thing?
A: I just do what I like to do, and I always make my way, and mountaineering, it’s something I love to do it. …There is nothing more behind it.
Q: What is that you love so much about it?
A: Being alone out there, it’s so nice. Nobody disturbs you, it’s just you and nature. The experience is much deeper, I think, in the end, because it’s longer. It’s a completely different experience climbing in a team or climbing alone, and I think climbing alone is something really special.
I never feel like lonely when I’m out there, definitely not. I just feel comfortable, it’s just simple, it’s a really, really simple life, the rules are just nature and nothing else. It’s hard to explain. I think a lot of people think you’re lonely when you’re out there, but I feel lonely when I’m back home with a lot of people.
Q: The release about your presentation at the Boulder Theater says you plan to talk about the fight on Everest. Do you feel like you’re still defending what happened up there?
A: I explained it. There is nothing more to say, there is just… you saw what happened up there. There is no comment from us. I have my opinion on it, but this is my opinion and I’m going to keep it to myself.
I think there’s a big problem on Everest. …And there’s not just me, you saw what happened this year (when , after which the rest of the Sherpas left, ). I think it’s just part of the whole Everest game, it accompanies with all the people… I think it’s nothing personal to me what happened there, I think it’s just what’s going on over there.
But still, people are really interested in Everest, of course, me as well. I would really love to go back to Everest and try the (Lhotse) traverse, but… the whole situation with Everest keeps me away for the moment.
Q: Does having a film crew following you ever get in the way of the experience — the solitude and the beauty of the mountains?
A: Usually I don’t bring a film crew. I’ve never had a film crew with me soloing — this is a tourist experience, this is why I don’t want it. Usually I have people in base camp… If you have people with you, it’s not soloing any more.
Climbing, for me, I do it for climbing, not for commercial, or making a good movie, this is secondary. But, of course if there is a chance to go back and shoot a movie, I like that, I am up for that. But first, it is about the climbing experience.
Q: What is your training like? Do you train with anyone? Can anyone even keep up with you?
A: Like 95 percent of my life is training, and sometimes I go on an expedition. This is what I love. Also, I like to have a goal of something I want to climb, and preparing and training for it is what is really nice.
There are a lot of people who can keep up — I am not Superman. I just take the effort and do the things, but it’s not impossible, what I’m doing. There are a lot of people out there who could do what I’m doing.
Jenn Fields: 303-954-1599, jfields@denverpost.com or twitter.com/jennfields
A TALK BY UELI STECK: THE SWISS MACHINE.
7:30 p.m. Dec. 8. Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St., Boulder. $15; tickets at
