Andrzej Zawada (born Maria Andrzej Zawada; 16 July 1928 – 21 August 2000) was a Polish

mountaineer Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, an ...

, pioneer of

winter Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultures ...

Himalayism. Zawada was an organiser and leader in numerous high-mountains expeditions. Author of movies and photographs from expeditions, co-author of Alpinist books. Honorary member of the British

Alpine Club The first alpine club, the Alpine Club, based in the United Kingdom, was founded in London in 1857 as a gentlemen's club. It was once described as: :"a club of English gentlemen devoted to mountaineering, first of all in the Alps, members of which ...

, French Groupe de Haute Montagne and American

The Explorers Club The Explorers Club is an American-based international multidisciplinary professional society with the goal of promoting scientific exploration and field study. The club was founded in New York City in 1904, and has served as a meeting point fo ...

. Grandson of Tomasz Rawicz-Zawada young participant of

January Uprising The January Uprising ( pl, powstanie styczniowe; lt, 1863 metų sukilimas; ua, Січневе повстання; russian: Польское восстание; ) was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at ...

in 1863. Son of Filip Rawicz Zawada, Polish legionnaire and

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throug ...

. Zawada studied physics and geophysics in

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

and Warsaw. Received an

engineer's degree An engineer's degree is an advanced academic degree in engineering which is conferred in Europe, some countries of Latin America, North Africa and a few institutions in the United States. The degree may require a thesis but always requires a non-a ...

seismology Seismology (; from Ancient Greek σεισμός (''seismós'') meaning "earthquake" and -λογία (''-logía'') meaning "study of") is the scientific study of earthquakes and the propagation of elastic waves through the Earth or through other ...

. In 1955–1993 he worked at the Institute of Geophysics of the

Polish Academy of Sciences The Polish Academy of Sciences ( pl, Polska Akademia Nauk, PAN) is a Polish state-sponsored institution of higher learning. Headquartered in Warsaw, it is responsible for spearheading the development of science across the country by a society of ...

. Amongst climbers he is known for his phrase: "Tell me, what you did in the winter in the

Tatras The Tatra Mountains (), Tatras, or Tatra (''Tatry'' either in Slovak () or in Polish () - ''plurale tantum''), are a series of mountains within the Western Carpathians that form a natural border between Slovakia and Poland. They are the highe ...

, and I'll tell you what climber you are".

Selected expeditions

* In 1959 he was a leader to a first winter crossing through the whole main ridge of

Tatra Mountains The Tatra Mountains (), Tatras, or Tatra (''Tatry'' either in Slovak language, Slovak () or in Polish language, Polish () - ''plurale tantum''), are a series of mountains within the Western Carpathians that form a natural border between Slovak ...

, which took 19 days. * In 1971, as chief he led the Polish expedition to make the first ascent to the

Khunyang Chhish Kunyang Chhish or Kunyang Chhish ( ur, ) is the second-highest mountain in the Hispar Muztagh, a subrange in the Karakoram mountains in Pakistan. An alternate variation of the name is Kunyang Kish. Its height, also sometimes given as , is ranke ...

() in the

Karakoram The Karakoram is a mountain range in Kashmir region spanning the borders of Pakistan, China, and India, with the northwest extremity of the range extending to Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Most of the Karakoram mountain range falls under the ...

. He also reached the summit. * With Tadeusz Piotrowski he made the first winter ascent of

Noshaq Noshaq (also called Noshak or Nowshak; is the second highest peak in the Hindu Kush Range after Tirich Mir at . It lies on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The north and west sides of the mountain are in Afghanistan whereas the south ...

() in the

Hindu Kush The Hindu Kush is an mountain range in Central and South Asia to the west of the Himalayas. It stretches from central and western Afghanistan, Quote: "The Hindu Kush mountains run along the Afghan border with the North-West Frontier Provinc ...

(13 February 1973). It was the world's first winter climb above . * On 25 December 1974, Zawada became the first man in the world to exceed a height of in the winter, alongside

Zygmunt Andrzej Heinrich Zygmunt Andrzej Heinrich (21 July 1937 in Łbowo, central Poland – 27 May 1989 on Mount Everest) was a Polish mountaineer who made several ascents of eight-thousanders. He died in an avalanche on the northwest slopes of Mount Everest in ...

, by reaching a height of on

Lhotse Lhotse ( ne, ल्होत्से ; , ''lho tse'', ) is the fourth highest mountain in the world at , after Mount Everest, K2, and Kangchenjunga. The main summit is on the border between Tibet Autonomous Region of China and the Khumbu ...

. * In 1977 Zawada made the first crossing of the north wall of Koh-i Mandaras (). * In February 1980

Krzysztof Wielicki Krzysztof Jerzy Wielicki (born 5 January 1950) is a Polish alpine and high-altitude climber, regarded as one of the greatest Polish climbers in history. He is the fifth man to climb all fourteen eight-thousanders and the first ever to climb Mount ...

and

Leszek Cichy Leszek () is a Slavic Polish male given name, originally ''Lestko'', ''Leszko'' or ''Lestek'', related to ''Lech'', ''Lechosław'' and Czech ''Lstimir''. Individuals named Leszek celebrate their name day on June 3. Notable people * Lestko * ...

made the first winter ascent of

Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heig ...

(), the highest mountain on Earth. Zawada led the expedition. It was the first winter ascent of a peak above 8,000 m. * In May 1980 Zawada led an expedition of Everest with

Andrzej Czok Andrzej Czok (November 11, 1948 – January 11, 1986) was a Polish mountaineer best known for making the first winter ascent of Dhaulagiri on January 21, 1985 with Jerzy Kukuczka, and for the first ascent of the South Pillar route on Mount Evere ...

and

Jerzy Kukuczka Józef Jerzy Kukuczka (24 March 1948 in Katowice, Poland – 24 October 1989 Lhotse, Nepal) was a Polish alpine and high-altitude climber. Born in Katowice, his family origin is Silesian Goral. On 18 September 1987, he became the second m ...

and ascended a new route. * In February 1985

Maciej Berbeka Maciej Berbeka (17 October 1954 – 6 March 2013) was a Polish mountaineer and mountain guide. He and Tomasz Kowalski went missing on 6 March 2013 as they were descending from Broad Peak. They were declared dead two days later. Berbeka's a ...

and

Maciej Pawlikowski Maciej Pawlikowski (born 19 February 1951) is a Polish mountaineer. He is best known for the first winter ascent of Cho Oyu together with Maciej Berbeka on February 12, 1985. He is also the current president of the Zakopane Zakopane ( Podhale Go ...

made the first winter ascent of

Cho Oyu __NOTOC__ Cho Oyu (Nepali: चोयु; ; ) is the sixth-highest mountain in the world at above sea level. Cho Oyu means "Turquoise Goddess" in Tibetan. The mountain is the westernmost major peak of the ''Khumbu'' sub-section of the Mahalangur ...

. It is the only winter ascent on an eight-thousander using a new route. Zawada led the expedition. * On 31 December 1988

made the first winter ascent of

. Zawada led the expedition.

Books

References

* * *

External links

* 1928 births 2000 deaths Polish mountain climbers Polish summiters of Mount Everest Sportspeople from Olsztyn People from East Prussia {{Climbing-bio-stub