Ueli Steck's family to hold public commemoration in Interlaken
The Local - [email protected]
Published: 18 May, 2017 CET.
Updated: Thu 18 May 2017 09:13 CET
The family of Swiss climber Ueli Steck will hold a public memorial service in Interlaken on May 23rd.
Steck, 40, died at the end of April when he fell during an acclimatization trek in preparation for ascending Everest by a new route.
He was cremated in a funeral service at the Tengboche monastery near Kathmandu, according to Nepali tradition.
His family took part of his ashes back to Switzerland.
In a statement on Wednesday the family’s spokesman thanked Steck’s friends, colleagues and fans for their support and said “as a sign of gratitude, the family invites the public and the media to a public commemoration ceremony”.
The event will be held at 4pm on May 23rd at the Congress Centre Kursaal Interlaken, near Steck's home community of Ringgenberg and the mountains of the Bernese Oberland, where he achieved many of his climbing goals.
Considered one of the finest climbers of his generation, Steck first hit the headlines at the age of 18 when he climbed the north face of local landmark the Eiger.
He later became known for his speed ascents, breaking the record for the fastest climb of the Eiger not once but three times.
Nicknamed the ‘Swiss machine’, he climbed Everest without oxygen, ascended the south face of Annapurna solo and in 2015 succeeded in climbing all 82 alpine peaks over 4,000m in 62 days.
The community of Grindelwald, near the Eiger, is now considering naming a part of the famous mountain after the late climber.
Speaking to The Local, Grindelwald president Christian Anderegg said the suggestion was the “spontaneous idea” of a mountaineer friend and that nothing had yet been decided.
The community would contact Steck’s family to discuss the idea after “a reasonable period of mourning,” he said.
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Steck, 40, died at the end of April when he fell during an acclimatization trek in preparation for ascending Everest by a new route.
He was cremated in a funeral service at the Tengboche monastery near Kathmandu, according to Nepali tradition.
His family took part of his ashes back to Switzerland.
In a statement on Wednesday the family’s spokesman thanked Steck’s friends, colleagues and fans for their support and said “as a sign of gratitude, the family invites the public and the media to a public commemoration ceremony”.
The event will be held at 4pm on May 23rd at the Congress Centre Kursaal Interlaken, near Steck's home community of Ringgenberg and the mountains of the Bernese Oberland, where he achieved many of his climbing goals.
Considered one of the finest climbers of his generation, Steck first hit the headlines at the age of 18 when he climbed the north face of local landmark the Eiger.
He later became known for his speed ascents, breaking the record for the fastest climb of the Eiger not once but three times.
Nicknamed the ‘Swiss machine’, he climbed Everest without oxygen, ascended the south face of Annapurna solo and in 2015 succeeded in climbing all 82 alpine peaks over 4,000m in 62 days.
The community of Grindelwald, near the Eiger, is now considering naming a part of the famous mountain after the late climber.
Speaking to The Local, Grindelwald president Christian Anderegg said the suggestion was the “spontaneous idea” of a mountaineer friend and that nothing had yet been decided.
The community would contact Steck’s family to discuss the idea after “a reasonable period of mourning,” he said.
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