My Vertical World. Jerzy Kukuczka. The Mountaineers, Seattle, 1992

M y Vertical World. Jerzy K ukuczka. The M ountaineers, Seattle, 1992. 192
pages. $29.9 5 .
On a sunny afternoon in the fall o f 1989, I was com ing off a m odest expedition
in the K hum bu w hen I heard that the extraordinary Polish m ountaineer Jerzy
K ukuczka had ju st died in a fall on the south face o f Lhotse. Later in L ukla, I
boarded the ST O L je t to K athm andu. In my com pany were that ill-fated Polish
team ’s rem aining m em bers w ho had gotten and rem ained good and drunk while
w aiting to continue their long jo urney hom e. They m ourned the death o f their
friend, a quiet, robust w orking m an. He was the second clim ber, after m edia star
R einhold M essner, to clim b all 14 m ountains in the H im alayan rosary of
8000-m eter peaks. Unlike M essn er’s great accom plishm ent, the routes K ukucz­
ka chose on the H im alayan giants were usually original, many o f them first
ascents and often done in the grip o f w inter wind and cold. In M y Vertical World,
Jerzy K ukuczka reveals that he was indeed a very lucky clim ber, but also that he
m ade his ow n luck through hard w ork, dogged determ ination, and inspired
optim ism . He was at once a singular, innovative, and unique adventurer.
He considered him self a regular guy and said that it was only when he failed on
Nanga Parbat that he realized the Himalaya are for “the normal people,” not neces­
sarily elite m ountaineer superstars. He knew he could succeed. His ascents o f the
world’s highest mountains stand as some o f the most daring in mountaineering history.
He was an “ E verym an” to the w orldw ide com m unity o f m ountaineers. He
grew out o f m odest means; he was unpretentious, at tim es diffident, quietly
intense. He loved to eat and drink. W hen a rakish Sw iss guide greeted him at the
K2 Base C am p w ith a sarcastic reference to his generous w aistline, he held his
tongue. Later, K ukuczka m uttered to him self, “We can have a chat at 8000
m eters.” He left the Sw iss behind as he and his partner led a difficult new route
up the south face o f K2 in the infam ous sum m er o f 1986. T hat year 13 clim bers
tragically died, including Tadek P iotrow ski, K ukuczka’s partner, w hen his
cram pon som ehow w orked loose and he fell.
In an era in Poland w here even the most basic foods were scarce, K ukuczka
was able successfully to m ount and equip num erous ventures to the far-flung
reaches o f the w orld. U sually pressed for cash and equipm ent, he painted factory
chim neys to earn precious z łotys to finance his m ountaineering dream s.
A lthough not alw ays successful (he was “brought to his knees” by altitude illness
on D enali), K ukuczka pursued his dream s on a budget a fraction o f w hat most
W estern clim bers enjoy. His source o f drive was not the flash and fam e that many
highly regarded clim bers today thrive on but rather the challenge o f clim bing the
great m ountains. A lthough a devoted husband and father, he was most at hom e
in the big m ountains, many tim es alone.
This book is m ore a chronicle o f rem arkable m ountaineering achievem ents
that provides clues to Jerzy K ukuczka’s personal side, than a revealing autobi­
ography. The text suffers som ew hat, perhaps in its translation to English. The
photographs generally lack im agination and dram a. Yet, w hat shines through is
the indom inatable spirit o f a man who realized his highest dream s despite a
hostile, oppressive governm ent and a harsh, som etim es dangerous env iro n ­
m ent. M y Vertical World is an im portant work in the library o f m odern achieve­
m ent and classical m ountaineering.
In Jerzy K ukuczka’s ow n w ords, “ I went to the m ountains and clim bed them .
T hat is all.”
G a ry R u g g e r a , M .D .