Swiss speed climber Ueli Steck falls to death while preparing for Mount Everest ascent

A Swiss mountain climber famed for his incredible high-speed ascents died on Sunday after he fell in the Everest region of Nepal during preparations to climb the world’s highest mountain, becoming the first to perish in the current climbing season, officials said.

Ueli Steck, 40, died after falling 1,000 metres to the foot of Mount Nuptse, a smaller peak in the area, said Mingma Sherpa of the Seven Summits Treks company that organised Steck’s expedition.

Steck was in the area acclimatising ahead of a bid to climb Everest through the less-climbed West Ridge route and traverse to Lhotse, the world’s fourth highest peak – at 8,516 metres in May.

“His body has been retrieved and is being brought to Kathmandu,” Sherpa said.

Kamal Prasad Parajuli, an official with Nepal’s Department of Tourism, confirmed Steck died while climbing Nuptse and that he had planned to attempt an Everest ascent.