MOUNTAINEER

Jerzy Kukuczka

1948 - 1989

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Józef Jerzy Kukuczka (Polish: [ˈju.zɛf ˈjɛ.ʐɨ kuˈkut͡ʂ.ka]; 24 March 1948 – 24 October 1989) was a Polish mountaineer, regarded as one of the greatest high-altitude climbers in history. In 1987, he became the second man (after Reinhold Messner) to climb all 14 eight-thousanders in the world, a feat known as the "Crown of the Himalayas." He accomplished this feat in less than eight years, and climbed all, except for Lhotse, by new routes or in winter. He is the only person to have climbed two eight-thousanders in one winter, and his ascents of Cho Oyu, Kangchenjunga and Annapurna were the first winter ascents. His ascent of K2 in 1986, in alpine style with Tadeusz Piotrowski, is now known as the Polish Line. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in 34 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 33 in 2024). Jerzy Kukuczka is the 10th most popular mountaineer (down from 8th in 2024), the 264th most popular biography from Poland (down from 220th in 2019) and the most popular Polish Mountaineer.

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Among MOUNTAINEERS

Among mountaineers, Jerzy Kukuczka ranks 10 out of 56. Before him are Heinrich Harrer, Andrew Irvine, Junko Tabei, Horace Bénédict de Saussure, George Mallory, and Wanda Rutkiewicz. After him are Jacques Balmat, Prince Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi, Edward Whymper, Hermann Buhl, Maurice Herzog, and Walter Bonatti.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1948, Jerzy Kukuczka ranks 100. Before him are Chris de Burgh, Stephen Schwartz, Rory Gallagher, Pim Fortuyn, Steven Chu, and Agnieszka Holland. After him are Mahesh Bhatt, Michel Suleiman, Stevie Nicks, Alia Al-Hussein, John Gray, and Nathalie Baye. Among people deceased in 1989, Jerzy Kukuczka ranks 52. Before him are Uichiro Hatta, Kōnosuke Matsushita, Gaetano Scirea, Countess Georgina von Wilczek, Guy Williams, and Irving Stone. After him are Valentin Glushko, Irving Berlin, John Payne, Boris Skossyreff, Graham Chapman, and Alfonso, Duke of Anjou and Cádiz.

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In Poland

Among people born in Poland, Jerzy Kukuczka ranks 264 out of 1,694. Before him are Nikolai Myaskovsky (1881), Agnieszka Holland (1948), Hermann Schwarz (1843), Sylvius Leopold Weiss (1687), Hugo Münsterberg (1863), and Jan Długosz (1415). After him are Aleksander Kwaśniewski (1954), Martin Kutta (1867), Hans-Jürgen Stumpff (1889), Maria Szymanowska (1789), Theresa Kunegunda Sobieska (1676), and Franz Mehring (1846).

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Among MOUNTAINEERS In Poland

Among mountaineers born in Poland, Jerzy Kukuczka ranks 1. After him are Krzysztof Wielicki (1950).

Polish born Mountaineers

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