Dutch climber dies in 290m fall in Mont Blanc massif

An ambitious attempt by one of the world’s leading mountaineers to ascend all 82 4,000-metre summits in the Alps consecutively in a single summer has been marred by tragedy after a climbing companion was killed in a fall.

The Swiss climber Ueli Steck (38) was climbing with Martijn Seuren, a 32-year-old Dutch mountaineer on the Aiguille de Rochefort in the Mont Blanc massif when Seuren fell 290m into a crevasse on the Italian side of the range.

According to the French mountain rescue services in Chamonix, Seuren fell at about 4.30am on Wednesday while at an altitude of 3,900m. Seuren had the same objective as Steck of climbing all 82 4,000-metre peaks, although over a period of years.

Steck, known as the “Swiss Machine” and famous for his high-speed and unroped ascents of climbs like the north face of the Eiger – which he completed in a handful of hours, hopes to achieve his goal in 80 days, using a mountain bike to travel between alpine areas.

If successful, his feat will have involved about 1,000km of cycling and 100,000 metres of altitude gain. Steck explained his motives on Facebook: "We are doing it just for fun. For the love of the mountains."

Following Seuren’s death, Steck wrote on his website: “I am deeply saddened. He would have been the first Dutchman to climb all the 82 4,000-metre peaks in the Alps.”

The circumstances of Seuren’s accident are unclear, with Steck writing on Facebook that he did not plan to comment further.

“I want to express my deepest condolences to Martjin’s family and friends,” Steck wrote. “Out of consideration for the family I won’t add further comment on this tragic event, and I ask you all to respect this as well.”

Steck's attempt has been beset with difficulties. Michi Wohlleben, the climbing partner with whom he set out to attempt the huge "enchainement" of peaks – as linking multiple summits is known – was forced to pull out early after injuring himself in a bad paraglider landing.

Steck and Wohlleben climbed the three north face routes on Tre Cime di Lavaredo in the Dolomites, the first winter link-up of all three walls, in only 16 hours last year.

Steck is famous for his groundbreaking ascents. In 2013, he climbed a hard new route on the huge south face of Annapurna in the Himalayas alone and in just 28 hours from his base camp to the summit and back.

Despite being feted with the top awards in mountaineering, his career has also been marked by accidents and some controversy. In April 2013, Steck and two other mountaineers, Simone Moro and Jonathan Griffith, were involved in a high-profile confrontation with a group of sherpas on Everest who complained that the ue climbers, who were moving unroped, had endangered them.

In 2007, while on a previous attempt of a new route on Annapurna’s south face he survived a fall after being knocked unconscious by a falling rock.

Guardian service