Kazimierz "Waldek" Waldemar Olech (6 August 1928 – 12 January 2016) was a Polish

mountaineer Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become sports ...

alpinist Alpine climbing () is a type of mountaineering that uses any of a broad range of advanced climbing skills, including rock climbing, ice climbing, and/or mixed climbing, to summit typically large routes (e.g. multi-pitch or big wall) in an alpi ...

, Himalayan climber,

caver Caving, also known as spelunking (United States and Canada) and potholing (United Kingdom and Ireland), is the recreational pastime of exploring wild cave systems (as distinguished from show caves). In contrast, speleology is the scientific ...

, climbing instructor, and mountain photographer.

Biography

Kazimierz Olech was born in Kraśnik, Poland in 1928. In his youth, he participated in Scouts and played

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

for his school team. Kazimierz Olech first went to the

High Tatras The High Tatras or High Tatra Mountains (; ; ,'' Vysoki Tatry''; ; ), are a mountain range along the border of northern Slovakia in the Prešov Region, and southern Poland in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. They are a range of the Tatra Mountains ...

in 1947, and began mountaineering in 1954. He went on to climb hundreds of routes across the Tatras. In 1957, he set out to climb the entire ridge of the Tatras, from

Huty Huty () is a village and municipality in Liptovský Mikuláš District in the Žilina Region of northern Slovakia. History In historical records the village was first mentioned in 1545. Before the establishment of independent Czechoslovakia in ...

at the western end to

Ždiar Ždiar (, , Goral: Zor) is a village and municipality in the Poprad District in the Prešov Region in Spiš in northern Slovakia. History In historical records the village was first mentioned in 1409. Its first name had been Stragan. Locals had ...

in the east. It took three attempts and the loss of a climbing partner, Ryszard Wawra, before successfully making the first winter ascent of the Tatra ridge with

Andrzej Zawada Andrzej Zawada (born Maria Andrzej Zawada; 16 July 1928 – 21 August 2000) was a Polish mountaineer, expedition leader and pioneer of winter Himalayism. Zawada was an organiser and leader of numerous high-mountains expeditions, author of m ...

in 1959. In 1957, he began climbing further afield, heading to summit difficult routes in

the Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

, the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

, the

Hindu Kush The Hindu Kush is an mountain range in Central Asia, Central and South Asia to the west of the Himalayas. It stretches from central and eastern Afghanistan into northwestern Pakistan and far southeastern Tajikistan. The range forms the wester ...

, and the

Pamir Mountains The Pamir Mountains are a Mountain range, range of mountains between Central Asia and South Asia. They are located at a junction with other notable mountains, namely the Tian Shan, Karakoram, Kunlun Mountains, Kunlun, Hindu Kush and the Himalaya ...

. He made a number of first ascents of unclimbed six- and seven-thousanders, including: Kohe Tez (7015 m) in 1962, Kohe Farzand (6185 m), Lunkho e Dosare (6901 m) and Kohe Urgent (7038 m) in 1968. In addition to mountaineering, he was a spelunker. In 1966, he spent 14 days underground mapping passages of Szczelina Chochołowska, the largest cave in the Chochołowska Valley in the Western Tatras.

Himalayan expeditions

He would make five expeditions to

the Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than 100 peak ...

. In 1974, he made the first ascent of

Kangbachen Kangbachen is a subsidiary peak of Kangchenjunga in the Nepalese part of the Himalayas. The Kangchenjunga massif's local name translates to "Five treasures of the high snow" in reference to its five peaks, one being Kangbachen. Kangbachen lies o ...

(7902 m, earning the then Polish altitude record), the westernmost of Kangchenjunga's five points. In 1978, he summitted the then unclimbed central route of

Kangchenjunga Kangchenjunga is the third-highest mountain in the world. Its summit lies at in a section of the Himalayas, the ''Kangchenjunga Himal'', which is bounded in the west by the Tamur River, in the north by the Lhonak River and Jongsang La, and ...

in 1978 (8482 m, setting another Polish altitude record). The leader of the expedition to Kangchenjunga, Piotr Mlotecki was banned from climbing in Nepal for 5 years after the central summit, as the expedition did not receive official permission to climb these routes in advance. Mount_Everest_1980_-_Heinrich_Olech_Czok

Mount_Everest_1980_-_Heinrich_Olech_Czok

In 1979 and 1980, Olech participated in summer and winter expeditions to

Mount Everest Mount Everest (), known locally as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level. It lies in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas and marks part of the China–Nepal border at it ...

. After the summer expedition, Olech remained in base camp until the winter expedition arrived. He would spend 147 consecutive days on the

Khumbu Glacier The Khumbu Glacier () is located in the Khumbu region of northeastern Nepal between Mount Everest and the Lhotse- Nuptse ridge. With elevations of at its terminus to at its source, it is the world's highest glacier. The Khumbu Glacier is follo ...

. While at base camp, Olech and Andrzej Heinrich fixed a new route up the southern pillar to the height of 8300m, and established the expedition's highest camp. The Polish expedition would be the first to summit Everest in winter successfully. In 1984, Olech ended his high-altitude mountaineering career at 56 by climbing

Garhwal Himalayas The Garhwal Himalayas are mountain ranges located in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Geology This range is also a part of the Himalayan Sivalik Hills, the outer most hills of the Himalaya located in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Major p ...

. In addition to climbing, he served as vice president of the High Mountaineering Club and the Polish Mountaineering Club. After he retired from climbing, he was awarded the Bronze Cross of Merit and received the Polish Gold Medal "For Outstanding Sports Achievements" four times. He additionally received a Gold Medal for the 100th Anniversary of Polish Alpinism and was named an Honorary Member of the Polish Tatra Society. He is the co-author of: ''Kangbachen zdobyty'' (1977), ''Dwie Kangchendzongi'' (1983), and ''Zimą na Wielkiego Grani'' (2000).

Sporting achievements

* 1959 – 1970 – ascents of

Ushba Ushba ( ka, უშბა) is one of the most notable peaks of the Caucasus Mountains. It is located in the Svaneti region of Georgia, just south of the border with the Kabardino-Balkaria region of Russia. Although it does not rank in the 10 highe ...

(4710 m), Scheldt (4320 m) and Nakra-tau (4277 m) * 1962 – first ascent of Kohe Tez (7015 m) * 1968 – first ascents of Kohe Farzand (6185 m) and Lunkho-e-Dosare (6901 m) and the first Polish ascent of Kohe Urgent (7038 m) * 1970, 1972 – ascents of

Lenin Peak Lenin Peak or Ibn Sina (Avicenna) Peak (, ; ; , renamed () in July 2006
(Tajik); for Russian tex
Peak Ozodi (7105 m) and

Ismoil Somoni Peak Ismoil Somoni Peak (; ) is the highest mountain in Tajikistan, as well as the former Russian Empire and Soviet Union before Tajikistan's independence. The mountain is named after Ismail Samani, a ruler of the Samanid dynasty. It is located in ...

(formerly Peak Communism) (7495 m) * 1974 – first ascent of

(7902 m) – earning the Polish altitude record * 1976 – ascents of the

Noshaq Noshaq, also called Noshakh or Nowshakh (, ''Nowshākh'', lit. "new horn"), is the second highest peak in the Hindu Kush Range after Tirich Mir at . It lies on the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan. The north and west sides of the mountain are i ...

(7492 m), Darban Zom (7110 m), Shingeik Zom (7291 m) * 1978 – first ascent of the central

(8482 m) – earning the Polish altitude record * 1979 – participated in summer expedition to

* 1980 – participated in the winter expedition to

* 1984 – the ascent of

Satopanth Mount Satopanth (7084m) is one of the prominent peaks of the Garhwal range in the Himalayas, located within the Indian subcontinent. It is also the second highest peak in Gangotri National Park. Location Article on the 1980 Polish Winter Expedition to Mount Everest

Olech climbing the Khumbu Icefall
*
Kangbachen zdobyty
'' Documentary film about the successful first ascent of Kangbachen in 1974 {{DEFAULTSORT:Olech, Kazimierz 2016 deaths 1928 births Polish mountain climbers Recipients of the Cross of Merit (Poland) People from Lublin Voivodeship (1919–1939) Cavers