Kangchenjunga | 1985 SW Face

A Poland expedition to Kangchenjunga in 1985 via SW Face, led by Andrzej Machnik. Summit reached on 11th January 1986. 19 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field Value
ID 240
Imported 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID KANG85401
Peak ID KANG
Year 1985
Season 4
Host Country 1
Route 1 SW Face
Route 2 -
Route 3 -
Route 4 -
Nationality Poland
Leaders Andrzej Machnik
Sponsor Polish-American Winter Kangchenjunga Expedition
Success 1 True
Success 2 False
Success 3 False
Success 4 False
Ascent 1 19th
Ascent 2 -
Ascent 3 -
Ascent 4 -
Claimed False
Disputed False
Countries Brazil, UK, USA
Approach -
Basecamp Date 1985-12-09
Summit Date 1986-01-11
Summit Time 1330
Summit Days 33
Total Days 0
Termination Date -
Termination Reason 1
Termination Notes -
High Point (m) 8586
Traverse False
Ski False
Paraglide False
Camps 4
Fixed Rope (m) 0
Total Members 19
Summit Members 2
Member Deaths 1
Total Hired 0
Summit Hired 0
Hired Deaths 0
No Hired True
O2 Used False
O2 None True
O2 Climb False
O2 Descent False
O2 Sleep False
O2 Medical False
O2 Taken False
O2 Unknown False
Other Summits -
Campsites BC(09/12,4700m),ABC(10/12,5100m),C1(15/12,6200m),C2(20/12,6700m),C3(02/01,7250m),C4(10/01,7750m),Smt(11/01)
Route Notes BC at 4700m Ramzar AC at 5100m 200-300m below Japanese BC and same site as Polish, Yalungkang 1985 C3 at Great Shelf or a bit above it. Kukuczka and Wielicki arrived BC 20 Dec. Team to BC for Christmas climb. Only 4 high camps because problem with tents which frequently broken by wind and heavy snow, but still summiters went to top and back from C4 in same day. Found 3 yellow oxygen bottles on top. Difficult last mixed limbing to top and old ropes were very helpful to indicate which way to summit. Were crevasses causing difficulty in lower part of climb. 4 men went to C4 but Czok coughing, not feeling well and on 11th he went down with Piasecki while Kukuczka and Wielicki to top. No more summit attempts. Kukuczka, Wielicki, Czok and Piasecki had on 3 Jan carried to C4, slept C3, and planned to occupy C4 on 4th, but weather bad on 4th and all 4 down to BC. Kangchenjunga, Lorentz - 7 Jan 86 Base at Ramche yak huts ABC 5200m by advance party about 5 Dec C1 6100m C2 C3 on Great Shelf established about 20 Dec Kukuczka and Wielicki arrived ABC about 22 Dec and would have taken only 2 days to get to C4. Weather very good untll Xmas Eve; snow up to knees at Ramche on 27th and shoulder high 2 days later when he had left Ramche. All well, no one ill, no accidents. Surely going to succeed.
Accidents Czok very weak (carried to C3 and died Jan 11 at about 10:00 pm of pulmonary edema); Wielicki some frostbitten toes which will heal
Achievement 1st winter ascent; 1st Polish ascent
Agency -
Commercial Route -
Standard Route True
Primary Route False
Primary Member False
Primary Reference -
Primary ID -
Checksum 2448967
Year 1985
Summit Success True
O2 Summary None
Route (lowercase) sw face

Members

19 recorded members.

Name Sex Year of Birth Citizenship Status Residence Occupation
Piotr Bednarczyk M 1951 Poland Climber Gliwice, Poland Ceramicist Details Other expeditions
Andrzej (Leszek) Czok M 1948 Poland Climber Gliwice, Poland Electronics engineer Details Other expeditions
Grzegorz Fligiel M 1949 Poland Climber Wielowies, Silesia, Poland Engineer, agricultural Details Other expeditions
Artur Henryk Hajzer M 1962 Poland Climber Katowice, Poland Student, world cultures Details Other expeditions
Robert Janik M 1941 Poland Climber Zakopane, Poland Physician Details Other expeditions
Zdzislaw Kiszela M 1953 Poland Exp Doctor Zakopane, Poland Technician Details Other expeditions
Julian Kubowicz M 1950 Poland Climber Gliwice, Poland Truck driver Details Other expeditions
Jerzy Kukuczka M 1948 Poland Climber Katowice, Poland Electrician Details Other expeditions
Alexandra Lewis-Lorentz F 1951 UK BC Support Canandaigua, New York Anthropologist & TV Producer Details Other expeditions
Casimir Lorentz M 1951 USA Climber Canandaigua, New York Travel/insurance agent & archaeologist Details Other expeditions
Andrzej Machnik M 1953 Poland Leader Gliwice, Poland Geographer Details Other expeditions
Krysztof Pankiewicz M 1957 Poland Deputy Leader Lodz, Poland Research chemist Details Other expeditions
Jose Luiz Pauletto M 1957 Brazil Climber Sao Paulo, Brazil Physical education teacher Details Other expeditions
Przemyslaw Piasecki M 1952 Poland Climber Poznan, Poland Mechanical engineer Details Other expeditions
Boguslaw Probulski M 1953 Poland Climber Zakopane, Poland Paints smokestacks Details Other expeditions
Michael Gregory Skorupski M 1950 UK Climber Paris, France Alpine guide & ski instructor Details Other expeditions
Krzysztof Wielicki M 1950 Poland Climber Tychy, Poland Electronics engineer Details Other expeditions
Ludwik Wilczynski M 1947 Poland Climber Bydgoszcz, Poland Philologist Details Other expeditions
Zbigniew Terlikowski M 1951 Poland Climber Dabrowa Gornicza, Katowice, Poland Mining engineer Details Other expeditions

References

10 recorded references.

Expedition ID Journal Author Title Publisher Citation Yak 94
KANG85401 AAJ Nyka, Jozef - - 60:215 (1986) -
KANG85401 HJ Machnik, Andrzej Kangchenjunga Climbed in Winter - 43:7-9 (1985-1986) -
KANG85401 - Kukuczka, Jerzy My Vertical World Mountaineers, Seattle - K354
KANG85401 - Kukuczka, Jerzy Kukuczka, Moj Pionowy Swiat Wydawnictwo 'Sport i Turystyka', Warsaw - -
KANG85401 - Kukuczka, Jerzy Na Szczytach Swiata Krajowa Agencia Wydawnicza, Katowice, Poland - K354
KANG85401 - Machnik, Andrzej Zima na Trzeci Szczyt Swiata Wydawnictwo At, Krakow, Poland - -
KANG85401 MM - - - 108:13 (Mar 1986) -
KANG85401 IM Wielicki, Kryzsztof Kangchenjunga - Winter '85-86 - 18:166-169 (Autumn 1986) -
KANG85401 - - http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12198621502/Asia-Nepal-Kangchenjunga-First-Winter-Ascent-and-Tragedy-1986 - - -
KANG85401 - - https://www.himalayanclub.org/hj/43/3/kangchenjunga-climbed-in-winter/ - - -