Solo

Where others feel miserable just from watching, Ueli Steck felt at home. Where there is only a descent for non-alpinists, he was drawn upwards. And he preferred to do this without a rope, solo, and at an incomprehensible speed. Ueli Steck was an alpine decathlete who was highly successful not only on the rocks of our Alps but also in the Himalayas, in ice and snow, and at high altitudes. In 2005, after his successes at the Wendenstöcke and his successful so-called Khumbu Express, the author Gabriella Baumann-von Arx asked him if he was interested in a book project. After a brief hesitation, he agreed and explained to her in long conversations what motivated him. He also took the time to show the non-alpinist his world and led her to the base of the Eiger North Face, to discover what Ueli Steck did not tell her in his humility.