Krzysztof Wielicki Receives Piolet d’Or Lifetime Achievement Award

Polish mountaineer Krzysztof Wielicki has become the 11th climber to be awarded the Piolet d’Or lifetime achievement award. He is the second Polish climber to receive the award. Previous awardees include Walter Bonatti, Reinhold Messner, Doug Scott, Robert Paragot, Kurt Diemberger, John Roskelley, Chris Bonington, Wojciech Kurtyka, Jeff Lowe and Andrej Štremfelj.

Wielicki was the fifth climber up all 14 8,000-metre peaks and the first to climb Everest, Lhotse and Kangchenjunga in winter. In 1990, he soloed the east face of Dhaulagiri. He made many first ascents, first winter ascents and other bold climbs.

He also became the first climber to climb up and down an 8,000-metre peak in a day with Broad Peak in 22 hours. In 1996, he soloed Nanga Parbat via the Kinshofer route, which he considers his most impressive ascent. He was awarded the Commander’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta in 2003 and in 2018, he received the Princess of Asturias Award in the category of Sports. In 2017, the International Astronomical Union approved the name of an asteroid as 123094 Wielicki. Wielicki will receive the award during the Piolet d’Or ceremony from Sept. 19 to 22 at the Ladek Mountain Festival in Poland.

Krzysztof Wielicki

Wielicki on 8,000ers

1980: Mount Everest
1984: Broad Peak
1984: Manaslu
1986: Kangchenjunga
1986: Makalu
1988: Lhotse
1990: Dhaulagiri
1991: Annapurna Massif
1993: Cho Oyu
1993: Shishapangma
1995: Gasherbrum II
1995: Gasherbrum I
1996: K2
1996: Nanga Parbat