Lhotse | 1989 S Face

A Poland expedition to Lhotse in 1989 via S Face, led by Jerzy Kukuczka. Summit reached on 24th October 1989. 14 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field Value
ID 349
Imported 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID LHOT89301
Peak ID LHOT
Year 1989
Season 3
Host Country 1
Route 1 S Face
Route 2 -
Route 3 -
Route 4 -
Nationality Poland
Leaders Jerzy Kukuczka
Sponsor Lhotse S Face Expedition
Success 1 False
Success 2 False
Success 3 False
Success 4 False
Ascent 1 -
Ascent 2 -
Ascent 3 -
Ascent 4 -
Claimed False
Disputed False
Countries France, Italy, Switzerland
Approach -
Basecamp Date 1989-09-06
Summit Date 1989-10-24
Summit Time -
Summit Days 48
Total Days 0
Termination Date -
Termination Reason 6
Termination Notes Abandoned at 8350m due to fatal fall of Kukuczka
High Point (m) 8350
Traverse False
Ski False
Paraglide False
Camps 6
Fixed Rope (m) 0
Total Members 14
Summit Members 0
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(06/09,5200m),C1(13/09,5600m),C2(16/09,6200m),C3(28/09,6800m),C4(05/10,7100m),C5(08/10,7400m),C6(21/10,7800m),Biv1(22/10,7900m),Biv2(23/10,8300m),xxx(24/10,8350m)
Route Notes C4 then 2 bivouacs at 7900m and 8300m High point on South Face. 1st 200m on wall by Czech route safer from avalanches on this snow section; rest of route was Polish route. Between C3 and C4 very difficult and more dangerous than in 1985 with seracs more unstable: warmer and more snowfall in "terrible" Sept. Camps in about same places and in 1985 with C4 and C5 exactly same places. Total 4200m from base of wall at 5300m to 7800m not in climbing traverse from 7800m to 7900m where had 1st biv. Kukuczka's fall perhaps due to his hand reaching beginning of snow and it slipped; don't really know cause. On South Face of Lhotse "enough Polish people have died" so Pawlowski may not return to it. It can be climbed. Pawlowski and Kukuzcka had very good chance of success: Kukuzcka was sure that they would reach summit about noon. They both strong men had slept well, weather clear, no wind and temperature not bad in sunshine in day time and both well acclimatized. Warecki: "We have not good luck on this wall - better to say good-bye." Also low "stock" of top climbers, only few left in Poland. Information to be reported to the Ministry of Tourism after the completion of Expedition: We started from KTM to Lukla on 30th Aug. We reached at BC on 6th Sept and at the same day we established BC on 5200m. We started climbing on 10th Sept and established C1 on 13th Sept at the height of 5600m and 2nd Camp on 16th Sept at the height of 6200m and 3rd camp on 28th Sept at the height of 6800m and Camp 4th on 5th Oct at the height of 7100m and C5 on 8th Oct at the height of 7800m and C6 established by Jerzy Kukuczka (leader) and Ryszard Pawlowski on 21 Oct at the height of 7800m and on 22nd Oct they established the first biv at the height of 7900m and slept there and on 23rd Oct they reached at the height of 8300m and established the next biv and slept there. On 24th Oct they planned to got to summit and at the same day at 8:30 o'clock early in the morning they started their climbing from 8300m to summit. Kukuczka was climbing and he ascended approx 70m from the last biv. After a few minutes he fell down slightly at 9:00 o'clock from 8350m. After that he was falling down quickly as the rope had been broken near the last biv and he fell down badly one hundred and forty meters and he was dead. At that time the next member Pawlowski was near the last biv, when leader was falling down. Pawlowski was just behind of it when the rope was broken before him and he got protected. So, after that Pawlowski never went up and abandoned his climbing and at the same time he started coming down and at that time he came down and slept at 7900m and on 25th Oct at 11:15 am he arrived at C5, where other two members [Kopys and Pawlikowski] were living at that camp for their rescue. He arrived at C5 and informed to BC about all the accident. So, at the same day at 4:00 pm. I informed about the accident in details to Ministry of Tourism. All three members camp to C4 and slept at that day. The next day they arrived at BC. Other members in BC at 10:00 o'clock morning on 26th Oct, went to the glaciers to search the dead body and after sometime they found the dead body of leader in a crevasse at the height of 5400m. They could tell from his clothing that it was the dead body of a leader. They left it there in the crevasse. On the next day on 27th Oct. All members and staffs of BC left the BC and started their return back to KTM and arrived at KTM on 31st Oct 1989.
Accidents Kukuzcka fatal fall; Warecki had bad parapente landing
Achievement -
Agency Asian Trekking
Commercial Route -
Standard Route -
Primary Route False
Primary Member False
Primary Reference False
Primary ID -
Checksum 2450623
Year 1989
Summit Success False
O2 Summary None
Route (lowercase) s face

Members

14 recorded members.

Name Sex Year of Birth Citizenship Status Residence Occupation
Yves Ballu M 1943 France Climber Massy, Essonne, France Sports Ministry official & parapente instructor Details Other expeditions
Floriano Castelnuovo M 1956 Italy Climber Lecco, Italy Stone worker Details Other expeditions
Leszek Czech M 1960 Poland Member Wodzislaw, Katowice, Poland Radio operator Details Other expeditions
Tomasz Kopys M 1953 Poland Climber Warsaw, Poland Engineer Details Other expeditions
Jerzy Kukuczka M 1948 Poland Leader Katowice, Poland Electrician Details Other expeditions
Michal Kulej M 1958 Poland Exp Doctor Zakopane, Poland Physician Details Other expeditions
Fulvio Mariani M 1958 Switzerland Climber Sonvico, Ticino, Switzerland Cameraman Details Other expeditions
Lucia Mariani F 1961 Switzerland Climber Sonvico, Ticino, Switzerland Teacher & film sound technician Details Other expeditions
Witold Oklek M 1958 Poland Climber Warsaw, Poland Cameraman Details Other expeditions
Maciej Jozef Pawlikowski M 1951 Poland Climber Zakopane, Poland Alpine guide Details Other expeditions
Ryszard Jan Pawlowski M 1950 Poland Climber Katowice, Poland Electrical engineer Details Other expeditions
Przemyslaw Piasecki M 1952 Poland Climber Poznan, Poland Mechanical engineer Details Other expeditions
Elzbieta Pietak F 1958 Poland Climber Dabrowa Gornicza, Katowice, Poland Television journalist Details Other expeditions
Ryszard Warecki M 1952 Poland Deputy Leader Katowice, Poland Metallurgist Details Other expeditions

References

5 recorded references.

Expedition ID Journal Author Title Publisher Citation Yak 94
LHOT89301 AAJ Warecki, Ryszard - - 64:227 (1990) -
LHOT89301 HJ Warecki, Ryszard Lhotse South Face Expedition - 47:165-166 (1989-1990) -
LHOT89301 MM - - - 130:7 (Nov 1989) -
LHOT89301 - - http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12199022701/Asia-Nepal-Lhotse-South-Face-Tragedy - - -
LHOT89301 - - https://www.himalayanclub.org/hj/47/22/expeditions-and-notes-47/ - - -