Having previously held the Eiger Speed Record in 2007 and 2008, yesterday Ueli Steck beat Dani Arnold's 2011 time of 2 hours 28 and reclaimed the fastest time in an astonishing 2 hours 22 minutes and 50 seconds.

Breaking the record for the third time was helped significantly by favourable conditions, Ueli claimed in a comment:

“It is a new record, but this was a result of the specific conditions. We can never compare ascents [on] a face like the Eiger. Conditions and weather are always different."

Known as the "Swiss Machine" for his solo missions based on speed and endurance, Ueli also managed to claim the Eiger North Face team speed record with Nicolas Hojac on 11th November. Climbing the Heckmair Route, the pair improved on Roger Schaeli and Simon Gietl’s 2011 record of 4 hours 25 minutes with a time of 3 hours 46 minutes.

In August this year, Ueli completed his 82 Summits Challenge - in which he climbed all 82 peaks over 4,000m in Western Europe in just 62 days, using only muscle power to travel between mountains. The challenge took Ueli and his climbing partners through Switzerland, Italy and France and included over 1,000km of cycling and 100,000m of altitude.

Despite comments that he would no longer chase after risky solo challenges following his solo ascent of Annapurna last year, the older, more mellow Ueli doesn't appear to be slowing down too much...

Watch a video of Ueli climbing the Eiger with Kilian Jornet earlier this month:

Ueli is sponsored by: Beal, Goal Zero, Julbo, Leki, Mountain Hardwear, Petzl and Scarpa