LOL :D
Please explain how did you figure out it would take several hours. An average player of any class who was already in Hell levels definitely doesn't need several hours to walk back to Hell from a new game start. You and advowson's replies make it sound like it's the same as if you deleted your character and started from scratch, which is completely off the mark.

Err, I wasn't trying to be funny. :)
He dies from 3 fireball hits, meaning that he can't just shrug off all the enemies he meets while going from level 1 to level 16. Maybe several hours is a bit much, but still, he'll need to be doing a lot of killing and surviving along the way.
From my own experience, I know that I'd be very careful, and would probably take a long time getting there. On most levels, you can't walk around like you own the place. Not at lower character levels, and especially not as a melee character.

Anyway, this continued discussion about deacontaylor's misfortune is making me a bit uncomfortable, so I'm going to leave it here.

If the level topology permits it, and the player has the spell Holy Bolt and the ability to cast it, this can be an easy way to face The Dark Lord without interference. Holy Bolt can hit undead and The Dark Lord, but not animals or demons. There are no undead on level 16. Stand well back, line up a shot carefully, and put a Holy Bolt into The Dark Lord from well outside the activation range for the mob. If you hit, The Dark Lord will awaken and come after you. He will not bring his minions. If you miss, nothing happens and you can try again.