2018 Nanga Parbat Winter Summit & Epic Night Rescue Expedition

Poland🏔️ 5 Peaks

Adam Bielecki

Born on May 12, 1983, in Tychy, Poland, Adam Bielecki demonstrated remarkable climbing talent from adolescence. At age seventeen, he made a solo alpine-style ascent of Khan Tengri (7,010m) in the Tien Shan, setting a record as the youngest person to accomplish the feat. Under the mentorship of Artur Hajzer and the Polish Winter Himalayism program, Bielecki became the vanguard of modern winter exploration. On March 9, 2012, Bielecki and Janusz Gołąb completed the historic first winter ascent of Gasherbrum I (8,068m) without supplemental oxygen, enduring brutal sub-zero temperatures. One year later, on March 5, 2013, Bielecki achieved the historic first winter ascent of Broad Peak (8,047m) alongside Maciej Berbeka, Tomasz Kowalski, and Artur Małek. In January 2018, during the Polish national winter K2 expedition, Bielecki and Denis Urubko were airlifted by Pakistan Army helicopters to Nanga Parbat to mount an emergency rescue of stranded French climber Élisabeth Revol and Polish climber Tomasz Mackiewicz. Climbing 1,200 vertical metres up the treacherous Kinshofer Route in darkness and sub-zero gales in under eight hours, Bielecki and Urubko reached Revol at 6,000 metres and safely lowered her to base camp, earning international accolades including the French Legion of Honour and the Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta.

Kazakhstan / Russia / Poland🏔️ 6 Peaks

Denis Urubko

Born on July 29, 1973, in Nevinnomyssk, Soviet Union, Denis Urubko relocated to Almaty, Kazakhstan, where he joined the Central Sports Club of the Kazakh Army under legendary coach Ervand Ilyinsky. Urubko rapidly established himself as an elite high-altitude powerhouse, completing the Snow Leopard award by scaling all five 7,000-metre peaks of the former Soviet Union in an astonishing 42 days during the summer of 1999. In May 2009, he became the fifteenth person in history, and the eighth without supplemental oxygen, to summit all fourteen 8,000-metre peaks. Urubko is revered worldwide for his commitment to alpine style and new routes. In 2005, he established a new route on the Southwest Face of Broad Peak with Serguey Samoilov, followed by a new direct route on the Southeast Face of Cho Oyu in 2009, earning two Piolets d'Or. His partnership with Simone Moro yielded the historic first winter ascents of Makalu (2009) and Gasherbrum II (2011). In January 2018, while participating in the Polish winter K2 expedition, Urubko volunteered alongside Adam Bielecki to execute a desperate night rescue on Nanga Parbat, sprinting 1,200 vertical metres up the Kinshofer Route in pitch darkness to save French climber Élisabeth Revol.

France🏔️ 6 Peaks

Élisabeth Revol

Born on April 29, 1979, in Crest, Drôme, France, Élisabeth Revol discovered mountaineering in the French Alps and qualified as a physical education teacher. Revol dedicated herself to lightweight, non-commercial alpine-style ascents of the world's most daunting peaks. In 2008, she accomplished an astonishing solo hat-trick in the Karakoram, summiting Broad Peak, Gasherbrum I, and Gasherbrum II within sixteen days in alpine style without supplemental oxygen. In winter 2013, she turned her sights toward Nanga Parbat (8,126m), forming an enduring climbing partnership with Polish mountaineer Tomasz Mackiewicz. Together, they launched multiple winter bids in pure alpine style, battling extreme cold, blizzards, and financial hardship. On January 25, 2018, during their fourth joint winter attempt, Revol and Mackiewicz reached the summit of Nanga Parbat at 18:00 in -45°C temperatures, making Revol only the second woman in history to conquer an 8,000-metre peak in winter and the first on Nanga Parbat. On the summit ridge, Mackiewicz suffered catastrophic snow blindness, cerebral edema, and frostbite. Revol guided him down to a crevasse at 7,280 metres, provided him with all remaining shelter, and fought her way down alone through hallucinations and frostbite until being rescued at 6,000 metres by Polish climbers Denis Urubko and Adam Bielecki. In May 2019, following medical treatment for severe frostbite, Revol returned to the Himalayas and scaled Mount Everest and Lhotse consecutively without supplemental oxygen, cementing her standing as one of the most formidable female alpinists in history.

Poland🏔️ 1 Peak

Tomasz Mackiewicz

Born on January 13, 1975, in Częstochowa, Poland, Tomasz Mackiewicz overcame severe early life struggles and personal adversity through travel, hitchhiking across India, and discovering a profound spiritual calling in the high mountains. Unlike many traditionally trained Polish alpinists, Mackiewicz operated entirely outside institutional frameworks, organizing low-budget, grassroots expeditions funded through crowdfunding and unwavering personal passion. Drawn to Nanga Parbat (8,126m) in Pakistan, he became obsessed with conquering the mountain in winter, the harshest season imaginable. Between 2010 and 2018, Mackiewicz launched seven winter expeditions on Nanga Parbat, partnering with Marek Klonowski and later French alpinist Élisabeth Revol. In winter 2015, Mackiewicz and Revol pushed to 7,800 metres on the Messner Route before being turned back by extreme cold. In January 2018, climbing in pure alpine style without oxygen or high-altitude porters via the Kinshofer and Messner lines, Mackiewicz and Revol stood atop Nanga Parbat at 18:00 on January 25, completing only the second winter ascent in history. On the summit, Mackiewicz was stricken by severe snow blindness and acute altitude sickness. Revol tenderly escorted him down through hurricane-force winds to a crevasse at 7,280 metres, providing him with a down suit and tent shelter before descending to seek assistance. Unable to move, Mackiewicz remained on the mountain, which became his eternal resting place. He was posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta in 2018 for outstanding contributions to Polish mountaineering.