‘The David Beckham of mountaineering’ Ueli Steck dead on Mount Everest hours after posting haunting message saying: ‘I love it here’
His body was recovered from site after doomed bid to scale 29,000 foot mountain
FAMED Swiss climber Ueli Steck - who was dubbed "The David Beckham of mountaineering" - has been killed in an accident near Mount Everest in Nepal, expedition organisers said.
Mingma Sherpa of the Seven Summit Treks said Steck died this morning at Camp 1 of Mount Nuptse hours after posting a Facebook message, which read: "I love it its such a great place here."
His body was recovered from the site and been taken to Lukla, where the only airport in the Mount Everest area is located.
Alan Hinkes - the first and only Briton to have climbed all 14 of the world's mountains over 8,000m - said: "Even the armchair mountaineers in Britain will be gutted.
"Everybody knows of him. He was the man of the moment. He was on everybody's lips. He was the Wayne Rooney or David Bekcham of the mountaineering world.
"He'll be greatly missed, there's no doubt about it. He'll go down as one of the greatest ever."
Mr Hinke said Steck was famous for doing technically difficult climbs very fast and solo - including classic Alpine routes like the north face of the Eiger, which he completed in two hours and 47 minutes without using a rope.
He said: "He was pushing the envelope, but he was at the top of his game.
"He was only 40. Some younger people might think that that's old but, for a mountaineer, he was right at the peak of his performance.
"He would certainly have gone on to even greater things."
Mr Hinkes said he believed Steck was planning something "mega" on Everest.
But he said he knew what he was doing was extremely dangerous.
Mr Hinkes said: "He was pushing the envelope risk-wise but he knew it. He was very, very experienced and technically proficient, but unfortunately something's happened.
"He was aware of the risk. He'd been on camera saying he knew this could happen to him.
"There but for the grace of God."
Mr Hinkes said he bumped into Steck many times around the world.
"He was a great bloke," he said. "He wasn't bombastic. He was unassuming, really
"He was wiry, like a coiled spring. But he always had a glint in his eye. You could see he had a sense of humour and he had a wry smile. He always seemed happy and he seemed chilled."
It was not clear how Steck died but he was planning to climb the 29,035-foot Mount Everest and nearby Mount Lhotse next month.
He was the first casualty in the spring mountaineering season in Nepal that began in March and will end in May. Hundreds of foreign climbers are on the mountains to attempt scale Himalayan peaks in May when there are a few windows of favourable weather.
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The 40-year-old Steck was one of the most-renowned mountaineers of his generation. He was best known for his speed-climbing, including setting several records for ascending the north face of the Eiger, a classic mountaineering peak in the Bernese Alps that he climbed in two hours and 47 minutes without using a rope.
In 2013 he achieved the first solo climb of the Annapurna south face in Nepal after almost losing his life in a fall there in 2007.
For that he received the "Piolet d'Or" considered the Oscar of mountaineering the following year.
In 2015, Steck decided to climb all 82 peaks in the Alps higher than 4,000 meters (13,100 feet) travelling between mountains by foot, bike and paraglider only.
He completed the feat in 62 days, helping cement his reputation as the "Swiss Machine."
Steck said in an interview last month with Swiss daily Tages-Anzeiger that he considers himself an "outsider" in the mountaineering scene because athletic achievement is more important to him than adventure.
Asked about his upcoming Everest-Lhotse expedition, involving a quick climb from one peak to the other including an overnight in the "death zone," Steck said: "When I'm on Everest I can stop at any point. The risk is therefore quite small.
"For me it's primarily a physical project."
Asked what he would consider to be success on his expedition, Steck told Tages-Anzeiger: "Of course I want to climb Everest and Lhotse. But that's a very high goal. Failure for me would be to die and not come home."
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