Broad Peak: Niebo i Piekło [Broad Peak: Heaven and Hell]

The authors examine the history of Polish mountaineering on the 8000m peaks and then focus on the 2013 Polish expedition to attempt Broad Peak in winter. Led by veteran mountain Krzysztof Wielicki, this small expedition consisted of some of Poland’s most experienced winter mountaineers including Maciej Berbeka (first winter ascent of Manaslu (1984), first winter ascent of Cho Oyu (1985)) and Adam Bielecki (first winter ascent of Gasherbrum I (2012)). On March 5, 2013 Berbeka and Bielecki, together with Tomasz Kowalski and Artur Małek, made their bid for the summit. The four climbers separated before the summit but all four managed to reach the top arriving over the course of 40 minutes. Bielecki and Małek reached their high camp on descent but Berbeka and Kowalski went missing and were pronounced dead three days later. In Polish, no English translation.