1985 Polish Cho Oyu Winter First Ascent

Poland🏔️ 2 Peaks

Krzysztof Pankiewicz

Krzysztof Pankiewicz was born on September 29, 1951, in Łódź, Poland. A brilliant intellect with a profound love of wild wilderness, Pankiewicz earned a doctorate in pharmaceutical sciences while simultaneously developing into one of the most formidable technical climbers in the Łódź Mountaineering Club. His apprenticeship took place on the severe limestone and granite walls of the High Tatras in winter, followed by demanding modern ascents in the Alps and the Hindu Kush of Afghanistan. In the winter of 1984–1985, Pankiewicz was selected by expedition leader Andrzej Zawada for the pioneering Polish-Canadian winter assault on Cho Oyu (8,188m). Rather than following the standard route, the team tackled the unclimbed, technically exacting Southwest Pillar (Southwest Buttress) in alpine style under brutal Himalayan winter conditions. On February 12, 1985, Pankiewicz and Maciej Berbeka reached the summit in howling winds and temperatures below −40 °C, establishing the first winter ascent of Cho Oyu and the first winter ascent anywhere in the world accomplished via a brand-new technical line. Following Cho Oyu, Pankiewicz remained a central stalwart of Polish high-altitude expeditions. In 1986, he participated in winter attempts on K2 and Nanga Parbat. In winter 1997–1998, he served on the Polish Nanga Parbat winter expedition alongside Zbigniew Trzmiel, surviving frostbite and violent avalanches on the Kinshofer Route. Pankiewicz was also a respected high-altitude medical researcher, studying the physiological impacts of extreme hypoxia and cold on the human body. Married to fellow accomplished Himalayan climber Ewa Panejko-Pankiewicz, he was honored with Poland's prestigious Medal for Outstanding Sporting Achievements. Following his death in Łódź on May 6, 2009, he was remembered as a gentleman-scholar of extraordinary courage who helped write the legendary saga of Poland's winter Ice Warriors.

Poland🏔️ 5 Peaks

Maciej Berbeka

Born on October 17, 1954, in Zakopane, Poland, Maciej Berbeka was the son of prominent Polish climber Krzysztof Berbeka. A graduate of the Faculty of Industrial Design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków, Berbeka combined an artistic temperament with extraordinary physical toughness, becoming a core pillar of the Tatra Volunteer Search and Rescue (TOPR) and Andrzej Zawada's Ice Warriors. On January 12, 1984, Berbeka and Ryszard Gajewski made the historic first winter ascent of Manaslu (8,163m) without supplemental oxygen, enduring brutal Himalayan storms. Just one year later, on February 12, 1985, Berbeka and Maciej Pawlikowski achieved the first winter ascent of Cho Oyu (8,188m) via a difficult new route up the Southeast Pillar. In March 1988, during the Polish-Canadian winter K2 expedition, Berbeka launched a daring solo attempt on Broad Peak, reaching the Rocky Summit (8,028m) in -40°C gales and surviving an open bivouac at 7,900 metres with severe frostbite, believing he had summited the main peak. That unfinished business haunted him for a quarter-century. On March 5, 2013, at age 58, Berbeka finally stood on the true summit of Broad Peak (8,047m) alongside Adam Bielecki, Artur Małek, and Tomasz Kowalski, securing the mountain's first winter ascent. Tragically, Berbeka and Kowalski were overtaken by exhaustion, darkness, and extreme weather during their descent, disappearing on the mountain they had conquered.