Andrzej Zawada (born Maria Andrzej Zawada; 16 July 1928 – 21 August 2000) was a Polish
mountaineer, expedition leader and pioneer of
winterHimalayism. Zawada was an organiser and leader of numerous high-mountains expeditions. Author of movies and photographs from expeditions, co-author of Alpinist books. Honorary member of the British
Alpine Club, French
Groupe de Haute Montagne [
fr] and American
The Explorers Club.
Zawada studied physics and geophysics in
Wrocław and Warsaw where he received a degree in
seismology. From 1955–1993, he worked at the Institute of Geophysics of the
Polish Academy of Sciences.
Selected expeditions
In 1959, he was part of the expedition team with
Kazimierz Olech who made the first successful winter crossing of the main ridge of
Tatra Mountains, which took 19 days.
In 1971, as chief he led the Polish expedition to make the first ascent to the
Khunyang Chhish (7,852 m, 25,761 ft) in the
Karakoram. He also reached the summit.[1]
With
Tadeusz Piotrowski he made the first winter ascent of
Noshaq (7,492 m, 24,580 ft) in the
Hindu Kush (13 February 1973). It was the world's first winter climb above 7,000 metres (23,000 ft).
On 25 December 1974, Zawada became the first man in the world to exceed a height of 8,000 metres (26,000 ft) in the winter, alongside
Zygmunt Andrzej Heinrich, by reaching a height of 8,250 metres (27,070 ft) on
Lhotse.[2]
In 1977, Zawada made the first crossing of the 1,600-metre (5,200 ft) north wall of
Koh-i Mandaras (6,631 m, 21,755 ft).
In February 1985
Maciej Berbeka and
Maciej Pawlikowski made the first winter ascent of
Cho Oyu. It is the only winter ascent on an eight-thousander using a new route. Zawada led the expedition.[7]
On December 31, 1988 Zawada led the expedition where
Krzysztof Wielicki made the first successful winter ascent of
Lhotse.[8]
Books
Marcinek, Kazimierz; Zawada, Andrzej (1973). Ostatni atak na Kunyang Chhish (in Polish). Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Sport i Turystyka.
OCLC7233551.
References
^Kus, Andrzej (1971).
"Khinyang Chhish climbed". Himalayan Journal. #31: 283–289. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
Józef, Nyka (August 2000).
"Andrzej Zawada "Lider"". Miesięcznik Ludzi Gór "Góry i Alpinizm" (in Polish). Archived from
the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-11-27.