Over five days in mid-January, Switzerland’s Ueli Steck soloed The Young Spider on the North Face of the Eiger, the second ascent of a route that he established in 2001 with Stephan Siegrist. The Young Spider takes a direct line up the 1800-meter wall, just left of the famed Harlin Direttissima (1966), and was graded 5.11d A2 WI6 M7 after the first ascent. Siegrist and Steck pioneered the route during several visits over a span of five months, and Steck was eager to complete the climb in an alpine-style push. 

Steck, 29, has climbed new routes on Mount Dickey in Alaska and Pumori in Nepal, and has completed numerous solo ascents, including last spring’s solos of the North Face of Cholatse and the East Face of Tawoche in Nepal.
Comment on this story