Waldemar Kowalewski from Szczecin conquered Gasherbrum II (8035 m above sea level), located in Karakorum, Pakistan, on Monday. As reported by PAP, he did it alone and without the support of additional oxygen from a cylinder. This is his 12th eight-thousander. Currently, the climber is descending to lower camps.
Gasherbrum II, photo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kv7ziIxWtWM
For 12 years, Kowalewski has been implementing a project to conquer the Crown of the Himalayas and Karakorum, i.e. 14 main peaks of peaks above 8000 m.
On May 15, also without oxygen, he conquered the fifth highest eight-thousander - Makalu (8485 m above sea level), located in the Himalayas.
To the collection of all the mountains included in the Crown of the Himalayas and Karakorum, he is missing only Shishapangma (8013 m) and Cho Oyu (8201 m) located in China. If he managed to climb all 14 peaks, he would be the fourth Pole to achieve such an achievement.
His distinguished predecessors took longer to collect the Crown of the Himalayas and Karakorum: Jerzy Kukuczka - 18 years (1979-87), Krzysztof Wielicki - 17 (1980-96), and Piotr Pustelnik - 21 (1990-2010).
In 2023, Kowalewski climbed three eight-thousanders: on May 25, Kanchenjunga (8586 m) in Nepal, on July 2, Nanga Parbat (8126 m), and on July 21, Gasherbrum I (8080 m) in Karakorum.
A year ago, the attempt on Gasherbrum II ended in failure due to difficult weather conditions. This year, the climber also struggled with unfavorable weather conditions, including: heavy snowfall, which forced him to leave the camp at 7000 m at the beginning of last week, where he stayed for over two days, and to retreat to the base. (PAP)
source - PAP
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