Climber Ueli Steck summits 82 peaks in 62 days

Steck's record climb up the north face of Matterhorn was only recently surpassed by fellow Swiss Dani Arnold Keystone

Legendary Swiss climber Ueli Steck and German alpinist Michi Wohlleben have completed the challenge of climbing 82 Alpine peaks over 4,000m in 62 days. They managed to achieve the feat without the use of any motorised transport. 

The mountaineer nicknamed the “Swiss machine” ended the 82 summits campaign by reaching the top of the 4,102m Barre des Écrins mountain in the French Alps on Tuesday. Steck and Wohlleben travelled by bike or foot between the base camps, and tried to paraglide back down from the summits into the valleys where possible. 

“For me it was a beautiful experience, a beautiful voyage,” said Steck after shattering his own expectations: He had set aside 80 days to complete the challenge that commenced on June 11. 

He didn’t seem exhausted, commenting on his Facebook page: “I am still super psyched, I could move on…. let’s see what comes next!” 

The project was marred by a bittersweet note however, when Dutch climber Martijn Seuren lost his life due to a fall off a ridge of the Mont Blanc massif on July 22 during a joint climb with the pair. 

Steck and Wohlleben are not the first climbers to attempt all 82 four-thousand peaks. In December 2006, Miha Valic climbed the 82 summits in 102 days, but drove between mountains in a van.