With her unexpected
first Polish ascent of Mount Everest she become a name
in alpine climbing and a heroine for the Polish people.
Wanda was determinate to bag all 14 mountains above 8,000
metres- no
matter what, this however led to considerable personal
damage.In 1981, despite a broken leg, she set out for
K2 on crutches. Only when she reached the Broad Peak base
camp on the backs of Jezry Kukuczka and Voytek Kurtyka
did she realise she had come too far. That costed a whole
year of no climbing.
In 1992 she left to climb Kangchenjunga, though the doctors
had warned her, both her liver and kidneys were in very
bad shape. She was last seen on Kanchenjunga at an altitude
of 8,200 metres, bivouacking in preparation for a solo
summit bid the following day.
"It had occurred to us that a group of mountain
climbers consisting only of women might well be met
with suspicion or intolerance in this Mohammedan country...."
SELECTED CLIMBS AND EXPEDITIONS
|
1975 |
Gasherbrum II
Gasherbrum III, FA |
|
1978 |
Mount Everest (first
Polish ascent) |
|
1985 |
Nanga Parbat |
|
1986 |
K2 |
|
1987 |
Shisha Pangma |
|
1989 |
Gasherbrum |
|
1990 |
Gasherbrum I |
|
1991 |
Cho Oyu (solo)
Annapurna (solo) |
|
1992 |
Kanchenjunga (last
seen at,8,200 metres) |
* FA = First Ascent
Books by or about Wanda
Rutkewicz
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caravan of dreams
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