Czerwińska at the Polish Woodstock 2015

Anna Czerwińska (10 July 1949 – 31 January 2023)[1] was a Polish climber. She is known for being the then-oldest woman to summit Mount Everest, doing so at the age of 50. She also published several books about mountaineering.

Climbing career

Czerwińska was born in Warsaw, and was the first Polish woman to reach the Seven Summits. A pharmacist by education, she also used her knowledge to provide aid to people she encountered in the mountains.[2]

Czerwińska was a member of a 1975 Polish Expedition, which marked International Women's Year. The expedition consisted of an all-woman team, as well as a men's team that served as support, with a mixed gender team marking the first ever ascent of Gasherbrum III.[3] A serious leg injury, however, meant that she was unable to take part in the peak assault.[4]

In March 1978, she climbed the north face of the Matterhorn with Krystyna Palmowska, Wanda Rutkiewicz, and Irena Kesa Czerwińska, marking the first all-female winter ascent of this route.[5]

In 1979, Czerwińska climbed a new route, Rakaposhi (7788 m), in Pakistan with Krystyna Palmowska. On 30 June 1983 they both climbed Broad Peak, making the first women's ascent thereof.[6]

Czerwińska took part in four K2 expeditions: in 1982, 1984, 1986, and 2010.[7] It was in 1986 that she bore witness to tragedy when 13 climbers died on the mountain.[8] On 15 July 1985, she was on the summit of Nanga Parbat with Wanda Rutkiewicz and Krystyna Palmowska, the first all-woman team to reach the top without the support of men.[4]

Czerwińska led the Makalu Expedition in 1988 and was also a member of the Makalu Expedition in the winter of 1990. She likewise led an expedition to Kanchenjunga in 1990.[4]

Over the course of five years, Czerwińska summited the highest peaks of all continents: Aconcagua (South America) and Kilimanjaro (Africa) in 1995, Mount McKinley (North America), Elbrus (Europe) and Mount Kosciuszko (Australia) in 1996, Mount Vinson (Antarctica) in 1998, Carstensz Pyramid (Australia with Oceania) in 1999, and Mount Everest (Asia) on 22 May 2000.[9] She was, at the time, the oldest woman to summit Mount Everest[10][11] and the second Pole (and first woman Pole) to have summited all the highest peaks of all continents.[4]

On 6 June 2000, she reached the peak of Shishapangma. In 2001, Czerwińska summited Lhotse and Cho Oyu.[4]

In addition to her mountaineering work, Czerwińska also authored or coauthored many books about climbing on Matterhorn, Gasherbrum, Broad Peak, Nanga Parbat, and K2.[4]

Notable mountains climbed

List of eight-thousander mountains climbed:

See also

References

  1. ↑ Zmarła Anna Czerwińska, wybitna himalaistka (in Polish)
  2. ↑ "Anna Czerwińska (10.07.1949 – 31.01.2023)". KW Warszawa. Archived from the original on 8 March 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  3. ↑ "AAC Publications - Asia, Pakistan, Gasherbrum II and III". American Alpine Club. Archived from the original on 2 February 2018. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Karnecka, Emilia (1 February 2023). "Anna Czerwińska Członek Honorowy Polskiego Związku Alpinizmu- wspomnienie". Polski Związek Alpinizmu (in Polish). Archived from the original on 10 June 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  5. ↑ "Historia polskiego wspinania. Alpy cz. II (po II wojnie światowej)" (in Polish). Archived from the original on 10 March 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  6. ↑ "Krystyna Palmowska – pierwsza kobieta na Broad Peak - Historia - polskieradio.pl". polskieradio.pl (in Polish). Archived from the original on 30 June 2023. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  7. ↑ "Wybitna himalaistka Anna Czerwińska spoczęła na Powązkach Wojskowych". dzieje.pl (in Polish). Archived from the original on 18 February 2023. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  8. ↑ "Anna Czerwińska: po Broad Peaku zostałam zniszczona". Przegląd Sportowy Onet (in Polish). Archived from the original on 2 June 2023. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  9. ↑ "Zmarła Anna Czerwińska. Himalaistka przeżyła 73 lata". histmag.org. Archived from the original on 8 March 2023. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  10. ↑ "71-year-old woman to have a shot at Everest". Deccan Herald. 10 April 2010. Archived from the original on 4 December 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  11. ↑ "Anna Czerwinska: Oldest Woman to Conquer Everest". abc-of-mountaineering.com. Archived from the original on 3 July 2009. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  12. ↑ In making any "highest mountains" list, one needs to use a criterion to exclude subpeaks and only list independent mountains. There is no universally agreed-upon such criterion. However the (generally accepted) list of fourteen eight-thousanders is obtained if one uses a topographic prominence cutoff of between 200 and 500 metres (610 and 1524 feet). Some eight-thousand metre subpeaks have been climbed as goals in themselves, for example Lhotse Middle, but this is quite rare.
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