Hope dims for climbers missing on the 'Killer Mountain'

Polish climbers Leszek Cichy and Krzysztof Wielicki reached the top of Everest on February 17, 1980. Theirs was the first ascent of an 8,000-meter peak in winter, a remarkable achievement that was the brainchild of visionary expedition leader, Andrzej Zawada, and the beginning of Polish dominance in the world of high-altitude winter climbing.

Under the leadership of Lech Korniszewski, two climbers from Zakopane, Poland, Maciej Berbeka and Ryszard Gajewski, made the first winter ascent of Manaslu on January 12. Their climb was particularly notable because it was the first time an 8,000er had been climbed in winter without using supplemental oxygen.

On January 21, 1985, two legendary Polish climbers, Jerzy Kukuczka and Andrzej Czok reached the summit of Dhaulagiri, making the first winter ascent. After surviving three high-altitude bivouacs during their descent, both men suffered frostbite as a result. The team was led by Adam Bilczewski.

Andrzej Zawada continued his leadership in the winter high-altitude game with a first winter ascent of Cho Oyu in February of 1985. Two rope teams made the summit. The first was Maciej Berbeka and Maciej Pawlikowski on February 12. This was Berbeka’s second first winter ascent of an 8,000er. The second ascent was on February 15 by Zygmunt Heinrich and Jerzy Kukuczka. This was Kukuczka’s second first winter ascent of an 8,000er, and even more remarkably, both in the same season.

The third highest mountain on Earth was first climbed in winter on January 11, 1986, by Jerzy Kukuczka and Krzysztof Wielicki. This was Kukuczka’s third winter 8,000er and his fourth 8,000-meter summit in a 12-month period. It was Wielicki’s second 8,000er in winter. Their success was marred by the tragic death of Andrzej Czok.

On February 3, 1987, Jerzy Kukuczka and Artur Hajzer succeeded in making the first winter ascent of Annapurna, in just a little over two weeks after their arrival at base camp. Their “speed” ascent was possible because of their residual acclimatization carried over from an autumn ascent of Manaslu. It was the first time an 8,000er had been climbed in winter with a small, self-contained team. Krzysztof Wielicki and legendary Polish female alpinist Wanda Rutkiewicz were also on the team, but failed to summit.

Lhotse was Andrzej Zawada’s first winter attempt at an 8,000er back in 1974. Although the expedition failed, two climbers succeeded in breaking through the 8,000-meter barrier. It took 14 more years for the mountain to finally be climbed in winter: by Krzysztof Wielicki in a solo sprint on December 31, 1988. It’s worth noting that he was climbing in a “corset,” having suffered a broken back not long before the expedition. This was Wielicki’s third winter 8,000er, and his second without supplemental oxygen.

Simone Moro proved that he was not a “one off” by making his second first ascent of an 8,000er in winter. He teamed up with Kazakh climber Denis Urubko to make the first winter ascent of Makalu on February 9, 2009. By now, it was more common for winter climbers to not only eschew the use of supplemental oxygen, but to also climb alpine style, with no Sherpa support, fixed lines, or prepared camps.

The first winter ascent of Gasherbrum 2 was a National Geographic expedition by Alpinist Cory Richards.

Polish alpinist Artur Hajzer, one of the remaining “Ice Warriors” from the 80s, initiated a project called Polish Winter Himalaya Climbing 2010-2015, and led a team of Polish climbers to make the first winter ascent of Gasherbrum I. The summit climbers were Adam Bielecki and Janusz Gołab.

A Polish team led by veteran “Ice Warrior” Krzysztof Wielicki, made the first winter ascent of Broad Peak on March 5, 2013. Four climbers made the summit: Maciej Berbeka, Adam Bielecki, Artur Małek and Tomasz Kowalski. This was Berbeka’s third winter ascent of an 8000er, and Bielecki’s second. The expedition ended in tragedy and controversy when Berbeka and Kowalski died on descent.

After an astonishing 29 attempts, Nanga Parbat was finally climbed in winter when two teams joined forces: Alex Txikon from Basque Country and Ali Sadpara from Pakistan teamed up with Simone Moro and Tamara Lunger from Italy. All but Lunger reached the summit on February 26. The following year, French alpinist Elisabeth Revol, together with Polish climber Tomasz Mackiewicz, made the second winter ascent, and the first female winter ascent of Nanga Parbat. Mackiewicz died on descent and Revol was rescued by Polish climbers who were on K2 at the time.

By 2019, four serious attempts have been made to climb the second highest mountain in the world in winter, all of them failures. This winter there are two teams on the mountain, vying for the first winter ascent of K2, without question, the most difficult of all the 8000ers to climb in winter. Stay tuned.