Jump to content

Jerzy Kukuczka

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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, regarded as 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 14 eight-thousanders in the world, a feat known as the "Crown of the Himalayas." He accomplished this feat in less than eight years, and climbed all, except for 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 the first winter ascents.[5][6] His ascent of K2, in alpine style with Tadeusz Piotrowski, is now known as the Polish Line.[7] No other mountaineers have attempted an ascent using the route since.

Reinhold Messner, upon hearing that Kukuczka had completed all 14 eight-thousanders, wrote, "You are not second, you are great."[8] The line was reproduced as the epigraph of Kukuczka's book and the Polish translation forms the title of a biography of him published in 2021.[9][10] He died in 1989 while attempting to climb the south face of Lhotse.[11]

Life and career

[edit]

Józef Jerzy Kukuczka was born in 1948 in Katowice, to an ethnically Silesian Goral family.[12] He practiced weightlifting in high school and began climbing mountains at the age of 17.[13] He was a trained engineer by profession.[14][15] In 1965, he became a member of the Mariusz Zaruski Tatra Scouting Club in Katowice. In 1966, he joined the Katowice Alpine Club and completed a climbing course in the Tatra Mountains.[16] After climbing in the Tatras, he progressed to the Alps, Alaska and the Himalayas.[3]

He climbed his first eight-thousander, Lhotse, in 1979.[17] The following year, he reached the summit of Mount Everest via a new south pillar route.[18] In 1985, he made first winter ascents on Dhaulagiri and Cho Oyu within three weeks.[19] In 1986, he and Krzysztof Wielicki made the first winter ascent of the world's third highest mountain, Kangchenjunga.[20] The same year, Kukuczka established a new route on the unclimbed south face of K2, which he and Tadeusz Piotrowski ascended alpine-style. Their accomplishment pushed the boundaries of Himalayan mountaineering, with Kukuczka regarding this as the "most challenging climb he had ever undertaken at altitude."[13]

Throughout his career, he ascended all 14 eight-thousanders in less than eight years, a feat he achieved on 18 September 1987. He held the world record for shortest time span to summit the eight-thousanders for nearly 27 years until May 2014, when Kim Chang-ho beat his record by one month and eight days.[21] Unlike many other prominent high-altitude climbers of his time, the routes Kukuczka chose were usually original, many of them first ascents and often done during the winter.[22] He established ten new routes on eight-thousanders, which remains a world record, and climbed four in winter. He was one of an elite group of Polish Himalayan mountaineers called the Ice Warriors. They specialized in winter ascents.[23] In 1987, he was named Man of the Year in Poland after summiting all 14 eight-thousanders.[3]

Rivalry with Reinhold Messner

[edit]

In the 1980s, journalists frequently described the progress of Messner and Kukuczka's climbs as a race to complete the grand slam of climbing, but both men stated they did not like the description or even the implication they were competing.[24] Ultimately, Kukuczka completed his sweep of the world's eight-thousanders in the winter of 1986-87, after Messner finished his grand slam by scaling Manaslu and Lhotse in the autumn of 1986.[18] Kukuczka accomplished this feat in less than eight years, twice faster than Messner.[13][19] He also established 10 new routes on eight-thousanders to Messner's six.[13] Messner climbed all eight-thousanders without supplementary oxygen. Kukuczka used supplementary oxygen on Mount Everest.[19]

Timeline of ascents above 8,000 metres

[edit]
Year Location Mountain Route Comments
1979 Nepal Lhotse West Face Normal Route
1980 Nepal Mount Everest South Pillar New Route[25][9]
1981 Nepal Makalu Variation to Makalu La/North-West Ridge New Route, Alpine style, Solo
1982 Pakistan Broad Peak West Spur Normal Route, Alpine style
1983 Pakistan Gasherbrum II South-East Spur New Route, Alpine style
1983 Pakistan Gasherbrum I South-West Face New Route, Alpine style
1984 Pakistan Broad Peak Traverse of North, Middle, Rocky and Main Summits New Route, Alpine style
1985 Nepal Dhaulagiri North-East Spur Normal Route, First Winter Ascent[26][27]
1985 Nepal Cho Oyu South-East Pillar Second Winter Ascent
1985 Pakistan Nanga Parbat South-East Pillar New Route[28]
1986 Nepal Kanchenjunga South-West Face Normal Route, First Winter Ascent[20][9]
1986 Pakistan K2 South Face New Route, Partial alpine style[29]
1986 Nepal Manaslu North-East Face New Route, Alpine style
1987 Nepal Annapurna I North Face Normal Route, First Winter Ascent[30]
1987 China Shishapangma West Ridge New Route, Alpine style, Ski Descent
1988 Nepal Annapurna East South Face New Route, Alpine style

Death

[edit]

Kukuczka died while attempting to climb the unclimbed South Face of Lhotse in Nepal on 24 October 1989.[31][32] He was leading a pitch at an altitude of about 8,200 metres (26,900 ft) on a 6 mm secondhand rope he had picked up in a market in Kathmandu. According to Ryszard Pawłowski, Kukuczka's climbing partner, the main single rope used by the team was too jammed to be used and the climbers decided to use transport rope instead. When Kukuczka lost his footing and fell, the cord failed and he plunged around 2,000 metres to his death. His body was never recovered.[33]

Personal life

[edit]

In Poland during the 1980s, there was significant issues with food scarcity and rationing.[34][35] Despite this, Kukuczka was able to mount and equip numerous expeditions to multiple mountain ranges. He painted factory chimneys by rope access to finance his mountaineering.[22]

Kukuczka married Cecylia (née Ogrodzińska) with whom he had two sons, Maciej and Wojciech.[36] His younger son, Wojciech, also climbed Mount Everest just like his father.[37] Kukuczka was a Catholic.[38]

Selected awards and honours

[edit]

Legacy

[edit]

In the hamlet of Wilcze in Istebna, there is the memorial chamber for Kukuczka, created in 1996 by his wife Cecylia. Commemorative plaques devoted to the memory of Kukuczka are located in Chukhung, Nepal as well as the Tatra Symbolic Cemetery in Poland.

The mountain Yak Hotel in Nepal in Dingboche (4400 m a.s.l.) is named after him.

The Jerzy Kukuczka Academy of Physical Education is a public university in Katowice that conducts teaching and research in physical education and rehabilitation.[40]

There is also a street in the Gaj district in Wrocław named after him. In 1988, the Polish Post issued a postage stamp featuring Jerzy Kukuczka honouring his reception of the Olympic Order.[41]

In 2015, a statue of Kukuczka designed by Bogumił Burzyński was unveiled at the main entrance to the Physical Education Academy (AWF) in Katowice. His name was also included on the Monument of Alpine Climbers in Katowice.[42]

He is the subject of the book Kukuczka: Opowieść o najsłynniejszym polskim himalaiście (Kukuczka: Story of the Poland's Greatest Climber) published in 2016 as well as documentary films Kukuczka by Jerzy Porębski and Jurek by Paweł Wysoczański, in 2011 and 2014, respectively. In 2018, Robert Talarczyk directed a play entitled Himalaje (The Himalayas) devoted to the life of Kukuczka, which premiered at the Silesian Theatre in Katowice.[43]

[edit]
  • Monument in Katowice
    Monument in Katowice
  • Jerzy Kukuczka's memorial with Lhotse in the background
    Jerzy Kukuczka's memorial with Lhotse in the background
  • Memorial plaque in Istebna
    Memorial plaque in Istebna
  • Monument of Polish mountaineers in Katowice
    Monument of Polish mountaineers in Katowice

See also

[edit]

Bibliography

[edit]
  • Kukuczka, Jerzy (1992). My Vertical World: Climbing the 8000-Metre Peaks. Mountaineers Books. p. 189. ISBN 0-89886-344-9.[9]
  • Wąsikowski, Piotr (1996). Dwa razy Everest. PiT.
  • Kukuczka, Jerzy (1990). Na szczytach swiata. Krajowa Agencja Wydawnicza. p. 193. ISBN 83-03-03166-X.
  • Gasca, Gian Luca (2021). Nie jesteś drugi jesteś wielki. Włoski portret Jerzego Kukuczki. Fundacja Wielki Czlowiek. ISBN 9788365095053.[44]

References

[edit]
  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. ^ a b c d 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. ^ Powell, Michael (9 May 2017). "Scaling the World's Most Lethal Mountain, in the Dead of Winter". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  8. ^ "Shisha Pangma '87 - Fourteen times eight". Virtual Museum Jerzy Kukuczka. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
  9. ^ a b c d Kukuczka, Jerzy (1992). My Vertical World: Climbing the 8000-Metre Peaks. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 0340534850. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
  10. ^ Gasca, Gian Luca (2021). Nie jesteś drugi jesteś wielki. Włoski portret Jerzego Kukuczki. Fundacja Wielki Czlowiek. ISBN 9788365095053.
  11. ^ "Jerzy Kukuczka: Legendary Mountaineer and His Historic Conquests in the Himalayas". awesomeholidaysnepal.com. 24 October 2024. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  12. ^ Kukuczka, Jerry (2015). "Challenge the Vertical".
  13. ^ a b c d "Remembering Jerzy Kukuczka, one of the greatest climbers of all times". tranquilkilimanjaro.com. 24 October 2022. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  14. ^ "Jerry Kukuczka". The Independent. 3 November 1989. p. 11. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  15. ^ "Polish engineers first to climb Everest route". The Daily Progress. 20 May 1980. p. 8. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  16. ^ Mateusz Łysak (7 May 2024). "Jerzy Kukuczka wiele razy dokonał niemożliwego w Himalajach. Zginął w symbolicznym dla siebie miejscu". national-geographic.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  17. ^ "Śmierć legendy wstrząsnęła światem. Mija 35 lat od odejścia Jerzego Kukuczki". polsatsport.pl (in Polish). 24 October 2024. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  18. ^ a b "Famed Polish climber dies in accident". upi.com. 26 October 1989. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  19. ^ a b c Stefan Nestler (24 March 2018). "Unforgotten: Jerzy Kukuczka". dw.com. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  20. ^ a b Machnik, Andrzej (1987). "Kangchenjunga climbed in winter". Himalayan Journal. #43: 7–9. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  21. ^ "Korean Everest Sea to Summit marred by tragedy". British Mountaineering Council. 27 May 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  22. ^ a b Ruggera, M.D., Gary (1993). "Book Reviews: My Vertical World. Jerzy Kukuczka". American Alpine Journal. 50: 300–301. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  23. ^ Agnieszka Szymaszek (23 March 2021). "Pionowy świat Jerzego Kukuczki. Wspomnienie jednego z najwybitniejszych himalaistów na świecie". onet.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  24. ^ "Polish climber dies". Bryan Times. 26 October 1989. p. 16. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  25. ^ Brniak, Marek; Nyka, Józef (1981). "Two Polish Ascents of Everest". American Alpine Journal. #23 (55): 51–53. ISSN 0065-6925. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  26. ^ "Xexplorers web:The meaning of winter in 8000+ climbing". Archived from the original on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  27. ^ Bilczewski, Adam (1987). "Dhaulagiri 1984-85". Himalayan Journal. #43: 21–24. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  28. ^ Skok, Janez (1986). "Asia, Pakistan, Nanga Parbat, Rupal Buttress Ascent and Tragedy". American Alpine Journal. 28 (60): 290. ISBN 9780930410278. ISSN 0065-6925. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  29. ^ Kukuczka, Jerzy (1987). "K2's South Face". American Alpine Journal. 29 (61): 14–16. ISBN 0930410297. ISSN 0065-6925. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  30. ^ Hawley, Elizabeth (1987). "Asia, Nepal, Annapurna Winter Ascent: Kukuczka's 13th 8000er, 1987". American Alpine Journal. #29 (61): 251. ISBN 978-0930410292. ISSN 0065-6925. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  31. ^ "Polish climber plunges to death". The Boston Globe. 26 October 1989. p. 59. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  32. ^ Przemysław Gajzler (16 August 2024). "Jerzy Kukuczka – polski zdobywca Korony Himalajów i Karakorum". onet.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  33. ^ Kortko, Dariusz; Pietraszewski, Marcin (2016). Opowieść o najsłynniejszym polskim himalaiście [The Story of the Most Famous Polish Climber] (in Polish). Warsaw: Agora SA. ISBN 978-83-268-2393-0.
  34. ^ Kifner, John (27 November 1983). "SHORTAGES ARE A STAPLE IN POLAND". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  35. ^ Swiatkowski, Lucja; Hatka, Witold (15 October 1989). "How Decades of Soviet 'Reforms' Ruined Polish Farms". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  36. ^ "Izba pamięci Jerzego Kukuczki". jerzykukuczka.com (in Polish). Retrieved 31 October 2024.
  37. ^ Tomasz Kalemba (6 September 2013). "Cecylia Kukuczka: nie czuję żalu do tych gór". onet.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 31 October 2024.
  38. ^ "Kubalonka, ślub kościelny Jerzego Kukuczki i Cecylii Kukuczki". Archiwum Rodzinne Jerzego Kukuczki (in Polish). 27 March 2015. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
  39. ^ a b c d e f g h "Legitymacje Odznaczeń". zbioryspoleczne.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  40. ^ "The Jerzy Kukuczka Academy of Physical Education in Katowice". The European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR). Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  41. ^ "Blok 136 Srebrny medal Orderu Olimpijskiego dla Jerzego Kukuczki". dyskontfilatelistyczny.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  42. ^ "Odsłonięto pomnik tragicznie zmarłych alpinistów Klubu Wysokogórskiego w Katowicach". wspinanie.pl (in Polish). 28 October 2015. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  43. ^ "Prapremiera spektaklu o Jerzym Kukuczce w Teatrze Śląskim". dzieje.pl (in Polish). 18 May 2018. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  44. ^ Gasca, Gian Luca (2021). Nie jesteś drugi jesteś wielki. Włoski portret Jerzego Kukuczki. Fundacja Wielki Czlowiek. ISBN 9788365095053.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jerzy Kukuczka.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jerzy_Kukuczka&oldid=1280132840"