I saw Wielicki present during the Book Festival. And just now he launched the Banff Mountain Film Festival.
He’s old school. Tough. Thinks nothing of losing the odd finger or toe. Says you must learn to enjoy suffering to be a real climber. (That’s why I’m a hiker.)
The Polish climbers are the world’s best (most would say, craziest) at Himalayan Winter Ascents.
A contemporary of Reinhold Messner, Wielicki’s controversial. And very entertaining.
Polish mountaineer Krzysztof Wielicki’s accomplishments place him among the world’s greatest mountaineers. In more than three decades of climbing, he has concentrated his efforts on difficult new routes and Himalayan winter climbs.
Wielicki became the fifth person in the world to climb all fourteen 8000 metre peaks and the manner in which he accomplished this astonished the climbing community: almost half of them were solo expeditions and Everest, Lhotse, and Kangchenjunga were first winter ascents. He has since led two Polish winter expeditions including an attempt of K2 via the North Pillar in 2003 and of Nanga Parbat via the Schell Route in 2007.
Wielicki and the interviewer finished off most of a bottle of “Rescue Drink” (Vodka) during the performance where he screened some never before seen footage of classic winter climbs. (The “official photographers” rarely ever made it even to Base Camp.)
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