Video: Ueli Steck Climbs 82 Peaks in 62 Days

One of the other most impressive accomplishments of 2015 was Ueli Steck's project to climb all 82 peaks in the Alps that are taller than 4000 meters (13,123 feet). The Swiss Machine managed to knock off all of those mountains in a mere 62 days, showing us once again why he is amongst the most talented alpinists of his generation.

In the video below, you'll get a chance to watch Ueli go to work in the Alps, while discussing the project, and what drives him to press forward with his expeditions to the mountains.

What will Ueli have in store for us in 2016? We'll just have to wait to find out. But I'm sure it'll be something unique and impressive.

Video: Ueli Steck Sets New Speed Record on the Eiger

Earlier in the week I wore about Ueli Steck's new speed record on the Eiger. On November 16, he managed to climb the mountain in 2 hours, 22 minutes, and 50 seconds, shaving five minutes off the previous record held by Dani Arnold. In this video, we not only get to hear Ueli talk about this new record, we also get to see him climbing along the famous Heckmair Route. As usual, he makes the climb look almost effortless, and when he talks about his accomplishment he is quite humble too. Watching the video will help you understand how he earned the nickname "The Swiss Machine," as he moves with such speed and grace on one of the most iconic mountains in the world.

Ueli Steck Sets New Speed Record on The Eiger

It has been a busy couple of weeks for Swiss climber Ueli Steck. It wasn't all that long ago that he was in the Himalaya attempting a summit of Nuptse, and now he is back home in the Alps, and enjoying some time in the mountains that he knows best. That includes climbing The Eiger recently with mountain runner Kilian Jornet. But now Ueli has reminded us why he called "the Swiss Machine" by also setting a new record for a speed climb on that same mountain.

On Monday of this week, Ueli set off on the famous Heckmair Route in good conditions and with great weather. He later posted a photo of himself on the summit, showing his recorded time on his Suunto watch. The display read 2:22:50.7, which means he was able to top out in under 23 minutes. Thats five minutes faster than the 2 hours and 28 minutes it took Dani Arnold to summit the same route back in 2011, when he set the previous record. It should be noted that Arnold used fixed ropes on his ascent, while Ueli does not. For purists, that added an asterisk to the previous mark.

Ueli is certainly no stranger to The Eiger. He climbs it regularly, and it is part of his personal playground in the Alps. In fact, he set a record of 2 hours, 44 minutes back in 2008. That was the record that Arnold later broke. It has been a few years since than, and that record held up well, but it seems Ueli has lowered the mark even further. The funny thing is, he probably didn't even set out to break a record, but was instead just trying to climb while the weather conditions were good. But we all know how fast Steck can be once he gets rolling.

Congrats tu Ueli on setting the new mark. He was as impressive always.