MSR is Proud to Welcome Alpinist Ueli Steck to the Team

 

Photo: Patatucci Photo

A dream without a plan is just a wish, and Ueli Steck, the Swiss Machine, has an ambitious plan to tackle his latest dream, a historic ascent and traverse of Mount Shishapangma, setting a new route on the mountain’s south face and descending its north side. At MSR, we couldn’t be more thrilled to support Ueli in this attempt, and whatever endeavors he dreams up next.

Photo: Patatucci Photo

Rising 8,027 meters, Mount Shishapangma sits entirely in Tibet and was the last of the world’s 8,000-meter peaks to be climbed due to its remote location in the strictly controlled region. This attempt will be Ueli’s first return to the mountain after a solo summit in April 2011, ascending the southwest face in 10.5 hours.

Photo: Patatucci Photo

Ueli and his climbing partner, David Goettler, himself an accomplished alpinist and guide, just wrapped up an acclimatizing mission in the Khumbu valley in Nepal where they did a series of advanced alpine runs, spent two nights at 6,198-meters on Island Peak and completed a traverse of three iconic passes in one day (12 hours, 46 minutes; 60 km, and 5,500 meters).

Photo: Patatucci Photo

Now that they’ve completed that period of adventure and acclimatization in the valley, the team has flown to Lhasa in Tibet, where they have begun the long overland journey by vehicle and foot to Shishapangma’s basecamp. There the two will rely on their months of planning and preparation to tackle the formidable task ahead in hopes of setting a new ascent and traverse of one of the world’s tallest peaks.

Photo: Patatucci Photo

Join us as we follow along on Ueli’s journey, and send our good wishes for a safe and successful mission. We’ll be posting images via Instagram on @msr_gear and on our Facebook page.