The history of Polish high-altitude climbing – in honor of Wanda Rutkiewicz

At the heart of Poland's golden age of world climbing was the legendary female mountaineer, Wanda Rutkiewicz, who lived like a flame. Boldly challenging the male-dominated world of high-altitude mountaineering, she left a historic legacy, becoming the first woman in the world to summit K2 and the first European woman to reach the top of Mount Everest.

This program honors her incredible legacy and invites you on a special journey to follow her final expedition on screen. The film, <The Last Expedition>, is a documentary that traces her life and mystery decades after she went missing on Kangchenjunga, following a rumor that she is still alive in a Tibetan monastery. Director Eliza Kubarska, a mountaineer herself, journeys into the Himalayas guided by Wanda's own audio logs and paints a multi-faceted portrait of her life with fellow legends like Reinhold Messner.

The screening will be followed by a 30-minute Q&A session. Join us to experience Wanda Rutkiewicz's unfinished myth and feel the deep respect her contemporaries hold for her.

During her climbing career, she successfully ascended 8 out of 14 eight-thousanders.

1978 – Mount Everest (8,848m): The third woman in history, the first European, and the first Pole to summit.

1985 – Nanga Parbat (8,126m)

1986 – K2 (8,611m): The first woman and the first Pole to successfully summit K2 (listed in the Guinness World Records).

1987 – Shishapangma (8,013m): The first Polish ascent.

1989 – Gasherbrum II (8,035m)

1990 – Gasherbrum I (8,068m)

1991 – Cho Oyu (8,188m): Ascended alone.