Makalu | 1986 Makalu La-NW Ridge

A Poland expedition to Makalu in 1986 via Makalu La-NW Ridge, led by Krysztof Pankiewicz. Summit reached on 24th September 1986. 15 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field Value
ID 902
Imported 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID MAKA86302
Peak ID MAKA
Year 1986
Season 3
Host Country 1
Route 1 Makalu La-NW Ridge
Route 2 W Pillar (to 6700m)
Route 3 -
Route 4 -
Nationality Poland
Leaders Krysztof Pankiewicz
Sponsor Himalayan Expedition Makalu 1986
Success 1 True
Success 2 False
Success 3 False
Success 4 False
Ascent 1 23rd
Ascent 2 -
Ascent 3 -
Ascent 4 -
Claimed False
Disputed False
Countries Austria, Switzerland
Approach -
Basecamp Date 1986-09-10
Summit Date 1986-09-24
Summit Time 1545
Summit Days 14
Total Days 41
Termination Date 1986-10-21
Termination Reason 1
Termination Notes -
High Point (m) 8485
Traverse False
Ski False
Paraglide False
Camps 3
Fixed Rope (m) 0
Total Members 15
Summit Members 2
Member Deaths 1
Total Hired 1
Summit Hired 0
Hired Deaths 0
No Hired False
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(10,16/09,5400m),MessnerC1(21/09,6600m),Biv2(22/09,7400m),Biv3(23/09,7850-7900m),Smt(24/09); ...C3(04/10,7400m),Biv(13/10,8000m),xxx(8000m)
Route Notes C2 at Makalu La (2 tents) C3 at side of NW Ridge (left by summiters of 24 Sept). Wielicki, Ruedi and Oelz intended to follow Kukuczka variant (a pillar) but difficult and dangerous with lot of snow and have to make big traverse to normal route so soon decided to go via normal route. Wielicki climbed with Oelz and Ruedi who joined Wielicki on 14 Sept at bottom of Pillar. 3 up Pillar to 6700m on 17 Sept, Oelz not feeling well and down. Ruedi and Wielicki to Makalu and down to BC (and after this expedition decided not to use Pillar). 21 Sept Wielicki led all the way through deep snow: left biv 3 at 7:15 am and was on top 3:45 pm had left Ruedi on last slope 50-60m below top and Ruedi could have been on top in 15-20 mins. Wielicki reached tent 7:00 pm but Ruedi never came. Messner saw traces of Ruedi on summit. Ruedi died of altitude sickness - apparently spent night of 24th in snow cave at 8200m and next day probably fell. Messner arrived at his C3 that day, saw Ruedi and sent Sherpas to Ruedi and found him dead, sitting 30m below Wielicki tent on trail to Makalu La. BC(10/09,5400m),MessnerC1(21/09,6600m),Biv2(22/09,7400m),Biv3(23/09,7850-7900m), Smt(24/09) Pankiewicz group attempt: Makalu had lot of snow (deep snow) which is not for everybody. Leader said would stop climb 20 Oct so to return KTM 27-8-9 Oct (leave Delhi 6 Nov). Probably Wanda will go to 7900m with 2-3 others and thence alone to summit. Wielicki left BC 1 Oct to go to Annapurna I with Kukuczka. 13th Oct Rutkiewicz and Pankiewicz started from Makalu La to reach C3 or with Cesa Bianchi to reach his deposit onto make new camp. At 7650m Pankiewicz turned back because of wind and had had pneumonia in Sept. Rutkiewicz, Cesa Bianchi and French expedition's 2 Sherpas together reached 7950m [8000m] where Sherpas pitched French C6. Cesa Bianchi did not find his cache so all slept in French tent (C3 apparently destroyed). 14th Oct fierce, very cold wind: all 4 down to Makalu La (Wanda wanted to move Ruedi's body but Sherpas refused and 4 needed for trek, so body still sitting 50m below Pole's C3). Climbing finished: wind terrifying on 14th. BC(10/09,5400m),C1(20/09,6400m),C2(23/09,7950m),C3(04/10,7400m), Biv(13/10,8000m),xxx Jakubowski had stomach trouble and left BC 10 Oct. Pankiewicz had pneumonia in early-mid Sept. No other problems in Oct. Except Jakubowski and Serafin, all Polish members reached Makalu La and spent at least one night there. Marcel Ruedi & Oswald Oelz to Ross Munro, Time-life - 29 Sept 1986 That is what happened to Marcel Ruedi in March he was in third place in the world cup of 8000m peaks. He ws normal butcher, he led a regular life, trained, but had a normal family, everything, and just in his free time went to the 8000m peaks and that put him under pressure. Although he acclimatized very rapidly to altitude, this time it was too short. I mean, we left Zurich on the seventh of Sept on the 18th we were already at 7000m, and Marcel went to 7500m and that is just not enough time even for the best to acclimatize, We both felt sick and so we both went down to base camp. I still didn't feel good and I told Marcel, its too early for me. Marcel felt good after a short time and went with Wielicki (starting at 7700m) and they climbed to the summit (arriving there 4 pm, Sept 24). He was extremely strong and very very highly motivated. But I am sure that in the last stages of the ascent he developed severe, acute mountain sickness, particularly cerebral edema, which leads to bad judgement and things like that and that is why he bivouacked on the way down, at 8200m. (Wielicki descended to 7900m). He survived the night... (on the morning of the 25th, Messner was at 7400m and saw Reudi moving slowly downwards, but later in day Messner saw no movement) but after that he had used up all his reserves and when (on Sept 25) Reinhold found him dead, he was at 7800m, (on a gently sloping plateau) and had some foamy blood coming out of his mouth, what is for me a sign of high altitude pulmonary edema. Stone dead, he had bloody foam coming out of his mouth, which means for me that in the final stages he died of pulmonary edema. The problem on Makalu is that it's a long, long way back. Here was a guy who was so strong that you thought he could never be stopped. It was bad judgement, a bad idea. (apparently the body was simply left where it lay) He made sausages. He was an enthusiastic butcher, or charcutier. Ruedi was much stronger than me, he was an extremely strong man, but he did two and a half weeks after leaving Zurich, having climbed one of the highest peaks in the world this is by all means unreasonably, that is asking for trouble. He wanted to go to Makalu as quickly as possible so he could go to Everest and Lhotse. and then there would have been only two left. Oelz - 30 Sept 86 Messner to Oelz by BC radio 29 Sept: 24th Ruedi and Wielicki: reached summit at 4:00 pm; had climbed from 7700m. Wielicki back to 7900m and Ruedi to 8200m that evening (tent at 7900m). 25th: Messner reached Mak La at 9:00 am and saw Ruedi (descending). Later that day saw no movement and saw Ruedi dead on 26th between 7750m and 7800m. Ruedi apparently took foam from mouth which tells Oelz pulmonary edema. Body left where it was. Min of Tourism via Acharya - 27 Sept 86 Ruedi and Krzystopf Wielicki reached summit via NW side 24 Sept. Wielicki returned to C3 (7900m) but Ruedi bivouacked at 8200m that night - which descending from biv next am, Ruedi died near C3. No further details. Wielicki good health. Oelz - 29 Sept 86 Ruedi and Wielicki left BC at 5400m for summit bid on 21 Sept, 2 weeks after Ruedi left Zurich. Ruedi had gone 7400m with Wielicki 17 Sept and to BC same day. Started up again on 21st from BC. Oelz left BC 22 Sept; had fever and had not acclimatized well from 7000m with Ruedi and Wielicki on 17th. Oelz leaves Nepal tomorrow.
Accidents Ruedi died on descent from summit. Jakubowski stomach trouble and left BC Oct 10; Pankiewicz pneumonia in early-mid Sep; no other problems in Oct
Achievement -
Agency Asian Trekking
Commercial Route -
Standard Route True
Primary Route False
Primary Member False
Primary Reference -
Primary ID -
Checksum 2449674
Year 1986
Summit Success True
O2 Summary None
Route (lowercase) makalu la-nw ridge

Members

15 recorded members.

Name Sex Year of Birth Citizenship Status Residence Occupation
Walter Egger M 1936 Austria Climber Fuldmes, Tirol, Austria Alpine guide Details Other expeditions
Maximilian-Horst Fankhauser M 1944 Austria Climber Neustift, Tirol, Austria Alpine guide Details Other expeditions
Zdzislaw Jakubowski M 1960 Poland Climber Wroclaw, Poland Economics student Details Other expeditions
Waldozimierz Kazimierz Korpecki M 1944 Poland Climber Lodz, Poland Electrical engineer Details Other expeditions
Jan Krysztof Liszewski M 1948 Poland Climber Lodz, Poland Geodesist Details Other expeditions
Wolfgang Nairz M 1944 Austria Climber Innsbruck, Tirol, Austria Director of mountaineering school & alpine guide Details Other expeditions
Oswald Oelz M 1943 Switzerland Climber Ebmatingen, Zurich, Switzerland University profesor of internal medicine Details Other expeditions
Ewa Panejko-Pankiewicz F 1951 Poland Climber Lodz, Poland Chemist Details Other expeditions
Krysztof Pankiewicz M 1957 Poland Leader Lodz, Poland Chemical engineer & pharmacist Details Other expeditions
Marcel Ruedi M 1938 Switzerland Climber Winterthur, Zurich, Switzerland Butcher Details Other expeditions
Wanda Rutkiewicz F 1943 Poland Climber Warsaw, Poland Electronics engineer Details Other expeditions
Jan Serafin M 1934 Poland Exp Doctor Warsaw, Poland Physician (surgeon) Details Other expeditions
Wolfgang Strickner M 1952 Austria Climber Neustift, Tirol, Austria Ski instructor Details Other expeditions
Ewa Szczesniak F 1952 Poland Climber Lodz, Poland Economist Details Other expeditions
Krzysztof Wielicki M 1950 Poland Climber Tychy, Poland Electronics engineer Details Other expeditions

References

3 recorded references.

Expedition ID Journal Author Title Publisher Citation Yak 94
MAKA86302 AAJ Oelz, Oswald - - 61:223-224 (1987) -
MAKA86302 MM - - - 112:10 (Nov 1986) -
MAKA86302 - - http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12198722302/Asia-Nepal-Makalu-Ascent-and-Tragedy - - -