SCARPA is really shocked and sad after this morning’s news from Camp 1 in Himalaya on the death of our friend, athlete and ambassador Ueli Steck.
All of us have known Ueli, an extraordinary person and athlete who has transmitted to each of us his passion, determination and his smiles and irony.
Our first thoughts goes to Ueli's family and friends at this difficult time.
During this difficult time our thoughts go first to Ueli Steck’s family and closest friends. However, because Ueli was also an athlete and collaborator who worked with us since the beginning of his career as a climber, we at SCARPA feel compelled to offer our own tribute to this unique and talented person.
Ueli was obviously known widely for his mountaineering skills, from his earliest days as a young alpinist to his days as a visionary who opened a new concept in alpinism called Speed Climbing. But to see Ueli only in that light is missing a big part of the person.
Thanks to his sharpness and experience, he was often involved in SCARPA’s mountaineering vision and strategy. His personality was equally exceptional – polite, humble, and always with a smile for anyone he met. We will miss you, Ueli, and we will miss those smiles.
“For me and for everyone here at SCARPA, Ueli was not just an extraordinary person and a visionary athlete, he was also a person who was able to transmit to each of us his passion and his determination, and he always had exceptional thoughts on products and on business” said Sandro Parisotto, President and C.E.O. of SCARPA.
Thanks to Ueli’s ideas about developing equipment to support his futuristic projects, SCARPA pushed itself to research and develop new materials, new technologies and new solutions. Ueli’s input on SCARPA’s products, and his imprint on the people at the company, cannot be understated.
Davide Parisotto, R&D Director at SCARPA, and Cristina Parisotto, Product & Design Director, who, along with Sandro C.E.O. are all among the second generation of the Parisotto family to own and operate SCARPA, all remember Ueli as a brother.
“We will keep forever in our hearts the days spent developing the best products we could to meet Ueli’s next challenge,” the Parisottos said.
“It might seem a contradiction at a time like this, but Ueli is an athlete thanks to whom the safety level has been raised for everyone who loves mountain travel, and for that reason, and many others, we will continue to say ‘thank you’ for a long time to come.”