Ueli Steck was born in 1976 and considered one of the world's best extreme climbers, and the single most successful climber ever from Switzerland. At only age 17, he mastered the highest rating of difficulty in climbing (9th level in UIAA), while his most spectacular achievement was the ascent in record time of each of the three most difficult north faces of the Alps. In 2008, Steck received the Eiger Award for his mountaineering achievements, and was awarded the Piolet d'Or, the "Oscar of Mountaineering," twice, in 2009 and again in 2014 for his first solo ascent of Annapurna. He died while on a training climb on the Himalayan peak Nuptse on April 30, 2017.