Jerzy Kukuczka

Jerzy Kukuczka
Jerzy Kukuczka on Mount Everest, 1980
Personal information
NationalityPolish
Born(1948-03-24)24 March 1948
Poland Katowice, Poland
Died24 October 1989(1989-10-24) (aged 41)
Nepal Lhotse, Nepal
WebsiteVirtual Museum of Jerzy Kukuczka
Climbing career
Known for
First ascents
Gasherbrum II East, Biarchedi, Manaslu East, Yebokalgan Ri, Shishapangma West
Major ascentsFour winter ascents on the eight-thousanders
Kukuczka on a mural in Katowice
Street art of Kukuczka in Bogucice, the district of Katowice where he grew up and lived, unveiled in 2019.[1]

Józef Jerzy Kukuczka (Polish: [ˈju.zɛf ˈjɛ.ʐɨ kuˈkut͡ʂ.ka]; 24 March 1948 – 24 October 1989) was a Polish mountaineer who is widely regarded one of the greatest high-altitude climbers in history.[2][3][4] In 1987, he became the second man (after Reinhold Messner) to climb all fourteen eight-thousanders in the world; a feat which took him less than 8 years to accomplish. He climbed all, except Lhotse, by new routes or in winter. He is the only person to have climbed two eight-thousanders in one winter and his ascents of Cho Oyu, Kangchenjunga and Annapurna were first winter ascents.[5][6] His ascent of K2 was made in alpine style with Tadeusz Piotrowski, that route (the so-called "Polish Line") has not had a second ascent in over 35 years.

Reinhold Messner, upon hearing that Kukuczka had completed all fourteen 8000ers, wrote to him: "you are not second you are great",[7] a line which is reproduced as the epigraph of Kukuczka book[8] and the Polish translation forms the title of a biography published in 2021.[9] He died in 1989 while attempting to climb the south face of Lhotse.[10]

  1. ^ "Mural z wybitnym himalaistą Jerzym Kukuczką odsłonięto w Katowicach". www.rmf24.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  2. ^ Doubrawa-Cochlin, Ingeborga. "A Tribute to Jerzy Kukuczka (1948–1989)" (PDF). The Alpine Journal: 32–34. ISSN 0065-6569. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  3. ^ Nicolas Hobley (24 October 2019). "Remembering Jerzy Kukuczka, the legendary Polish mountaineer". planetmountain.com. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  4. ^ "Remembering legendary Polish climber". polskieradio.pl. 24 October 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  5. ^ Nyka, Józef (1988). "Asia, Tibet, Shisha Pangma and Kukuczka's 14th 8000er". American Alpine Journal. #30 (62): 280. ISBN 978-0930410339. ISSN 0065-6925. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  6. ^ Aleksandra Stanisławska (5 January 2014). "Poles in the Himalayas". poland.pl. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  7. ^ "Shisha Pangma '87 - Fourteen times eight". Virtual Museum Jerzy Kukuczka. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
  8. ^ Kukuczka, Jerzy (1992). My Vertical World: Climbing the 8000-Metre Peaks. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 0340534850. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
  9. ^ Gasca, Gian Luca (2021). Nie jesteś drugi jesteś wielki. Włoski portret Jerzego Kukuczki. Fundacja Wielki Czlowiek. ISBN 9788365095053.
  10. ^ "Jerzy Kukuczka: Legendary Mountaineer and His Historic Conquests in the Himalayas". awesomeholidaysnepal.com. 24 October 2024. Retrieved 2 November 2024.