Krystyna Palmowska (11 November 1948 – 15 June 2025) was a Polish mountaineer and engineer. Palmowska became known for her mountaineering expeditions in the late 1970s and 1980s, where she was recognized as one of Poland's most notable female climbers of her generation. In 1983, Palmowska was the first woman to summit

Broad Peak Broad Peak (; ) is one of the eight-thousanders, and is located in the Karakoram range spanning Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan and Xinjiang, China. It is the 12th highest mountain in the world with elevation above sea level. The first ascent of t ...

and two years later was part of the first all-female summit of

Nanga Parbat Nanga Parbat () (; ), known locally as Diamer (), is the ninth-highest mountain on Earth and its summit is at above sea level. Lying immediately southeast of the northernmost bend of the Indus River in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan-a ...

Biography

Palmowska was born in Warsaw on 11 November 1948. Palmowska joined the Warsaw Mountaineering Club in 1969. There, she began to climb regularly with all-women's climbing teams, gaining experience in 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 ...

. After meeting climbing partner Anna Czerwińska, the pair would become known for their ascents of some of the Tatras' most difficult routes, including winter ascents.

International climbing expeditions

Palmowska made her first expedition to the Karakoram in 1975. That year, she reached 8035 m high on

Gasherbrum II Gasherbrum II (; ; ); surveyed as K4, is the 13th highest mountain in the world at above sea level. It is the third-highest peak of the Gasherbrum massif, and is located in the Karakoram, on the border between Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan and ...

. before aborting the summit attempt. In 1977, Czerwińska and Palmowska made the second all-female ascent of the

Matterhorn The , ; ; ; or ; ; . is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the Main chain of the Alps, main watershed and border between Italy and Switzerland. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the Pennine Alps, ...

's North Face. The following year, Palmowska was part of the first successful all-female winter climb of the Matterhorn. In 1979 Palmowska and Czerwińska made a new ascent of

Rakaposhi Rakaposhi (; ) also known as Dumani () is a mountain within the Karakoram range in Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan. It is situated in the middle of the Nagar and Bagrote valleys. The mountain is extremely broad, measuring almost from east to west ...

(7,788m). It was the first women's ascent of the mountain. In 1980, she was part of an expedition to

Kanchenjunga 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 1982, Palmowska was a member of the K2 Women's Expedition with

Wanda Rutkiewicz Wanda Rutkiewicz ( 4 February 1943 – 12–13 May 1992) was a Polish mountaineer and computer engineer. She was the first woman to reach the summit of K2 and the third woman (first European woman) to summit Mount Everest. Early life Wanda R ...

and Czerwińska. Palmowska reached 7,000 m on the Abruzzi Rib before descending. The following year, she summitted her first

eight thousander The eight-thousanders are the 14 mountains recognized by the International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (UIAA) as being more than in height above sea level, and sufficiently independent of neighbouring peaks. There is no precise defi ...

, Broad Peak, in an

alpine style 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 climbing route, routes (e.g. multi-pitch climbing, ...

ascent, becoming the first woman to reach the summit on 30 July 1983. In 1985, she was part of the first all-female expedition team to summit Nanga Parbat (8,126m). In 1986, Czerwińska and Palmowska reached 8,200m up K2's Magic Line route, before descending. Outside of mountaineering, Palmowska had a PhD in electrical engineering and worked as an engineer. In 2003, Palmowska published "Zaklęty w górski kamień" (Enchanted in the Mountain Stone), a book about climbing, friendship and her passion for the mountains.

Death

Palmowska died on 15 June 2025 at the Wyżnia Przybylińska Pass in the

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

. Her body was found a day later, in the area of the Piarżysta Valley near Koprowy Wierch. She was 76 years old.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palmowska, Krystyna 1948 births 2025 deaths Polish mountain climbers People from Warsaw Accidental deaths from falls Mountaineering deaths Sport deaths in Slovakia Summiters of Broad Peak Polish female climbers