Wanda Rutkiewicz

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Wanda Rutkiewicz, 1968

Wanda Rutkiewicz-Błaszkiewicz ( [ˈvanda rutˈkievitʂ] ; * February 4, 1943 in Plungė , Lithuania ; † May 12, 1992 on Kangchenjunga (missing)) was a Polish mountaineer . She is considered one of the most important women in alpine sports in the 20th century. She climbed eight eight- thousanders .

Life

Rutkiewicz moved with her family to Breslau in the then Polish Silesia as part of the population shifts after the Second World War . There she completed her training as an electrical engineer at the Technical University of Wroclaw .

Wanda Rutkiewicz started climbing in the High Tatras at the age of 18 . At the age of 21, she climbed in the Alps and Norway. In 1973 she was the first woman to undertake a winter ascent of the north face of the Eiger . Further expeditions took her to the Himalayas . In 1978 she was the first European to climb Mount Everest .

She said of herself: "I see all attempts to limit my independence as aggression, to which I react with stubbornness instead of bowing down."

death

On May 12, 1992, Wanda Rutkiewicz and Carlos Carsolio began the last stage of the ascent to Kangchenjunga ( 8586  m ). An injury slowed her down and Carsolio reached the summit alone. On the descent he met her at 8,300  m as she was preparing her bivouac for the summit ascent the next day. However, she had no sleeping bag, no stove, no water and no food. Still, she insisted on climbing the summit and asked Carsolio about the difficulties and details of the further ascent. That was the last time Wanda Rutkiewicz was seen alive. Carsolio went down to the camp alone, where he waited another three days.

Carlos Carsolio: “I should probably have persuaded them to relegate with me. But she didn't think of it at all, just focused on the summit. It was her third attempt at the Kantsch, and she didn't want to take any more defeat. She knew exactly what she was getting into! And I had neither the physical nor the moral strength to ask that she go with me. "

A memorial plaque was inaugurated in her honor at the Symbolic Memorial Cemetery of the Fatalities in the Mountains (Symbolický cintorín pri Popradskom plese) in Zlomisková dolina in the High Tatras .

Ascents (selection)

  • 1968 Trollryggen, Norway - first women's team
  • 1970 Lenin Peak ( 7134  m ), Pamir
  • 1971 Triglav north face (with Siri Melchior )
  • 1972 Noshaq ( 7492  m ), Hindu Kush
  • In 1973 she was the first woman to undertake a winter ascent of the north face of the Eiger.
  • In 1975 she climbed Gasherbrum III ( 7952  m ) as the leader of a women’s expedition (highest first ascent ever made by a woman).
  • 1978 Matterhorn north face, first women's team in winter
  • In 1978 she was the first Polish woman and the third woman in the world to climb Mount Everest ( 8,848  m ).
  • 1979 Grand Capucin East Face
  • 1981 Elbrus ( 5642  m ) in winter
  • In 1982 she led a women’s expedition to K2 ( 8611  m ), but it failed; also in 1984 it failed on this mountain.
  • In 1985 she climbed the Aconcagua ( 6959  m ) in alpine style .
  • In 1985 she climbed the Nanga Parbat ( 8125  m ) (together with Anna Czerwińska and Krystyna Palmowska as the first women's team ).
  • In 1986 she was the first woman and first person from Poland to climb the K2 .
  • 1987 mounted as part of a group having Jerzy Kukuczka the Shishapangma ( 8027  m ).
  • In 1989 she climbed the Gasherbrum II ( 8035  m ) as part of a women's expedition. The film The Snow Women was shot.
  • In 1990 Rutkiewicz was on the way to Makalu and climbed the Hidden Peak ( 8080  m ).
  • In 1991 she climbed the Cho Oyu ( 8188  m ) and the Annapurna ( 8091  m ) single-handedly.
  • 1992 attempt to climb the Kangchenjunga ( 8586  m ); disappeared since then.

Awards

  • Six awards from the Polish state for exceptional sporting achievements
  • 1988 Prize at the Graz Film Festival for the film K2-Requiem
  • 1988 Raichle Adventure Prize
  • 1989 Victor of Adventure , France
  • 1990 Match d'ore , Paris
  • 1990 Minerva della donna , Italy
  • 1991 Awarded the Sitara-i-Imtiaz Order of the Republic of Pakistan for outstanding mountaineering achievements
  • 1994 The King Albert Mountain Award from the King Albert Memorial Foundation (posthumous)

literature

Web links

Commons : Wanda Rutkiewicz  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Wanda Rutkiewicz (1943–1992). In: bergfieber.de .
  2. ↑ Everest Facts. In: everesthistory.com (English).
  3. ^ Gertrude Reinisch: Wanda Rutkiewicz. Caravan of dreams , Bergverlag Rother , 1998, p. 27.
  4. ^ Gertrude Reinisch: Wanda Rutkiewicz. Caravan of dreams. Bergverlag Rother , 1998, p. 181 f.
  5. ↑ faz.net May 2, 2018 - The brief moment of happy life
  6. ^ Wanda Rutkiewicz. In: king-albert-foundation.ch (English).
personal data
SURNAME Rutkiewicz, Wanda
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Rutkiewicz-Błaszkiewicz, Wanda (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Polish climber
DATE OF BIRTH February 4, 1943
PLACE OF BIRTH Plungė , Lithuanian SSR
DATE OF DEATH May 12, 1992 or May 13, 1992
Place of death Kangchenjunga , India