Krystyna Palmowska Broke Barriers as a Polish Alpinist Known for Her Wit and Skill

Every January, we share a tribute to members of our community who we lost last year. Some were legends, others were pillars of their community, all were climbers. Read the full tribute to Climbers We Lost in 2025 here.

Krystyna Palmowska, 76, June 15

Krystyna Palmowska, one of the most accomplished Polish alpinists of the 1970s and ’80s, died on June 15, 2025, after a fall in Slovakia’s High Tatras. She was 76. According to reports from the Slovak Mountain Rescue Service, cited by British Poles and ExplorersWeb, she fell in a rocky section of the Piarżysta Valley below Koprová Peak and was located the following day after a large ground and helicopter search involving both Slovak and Polish rescuers.

Born in Warsaw in 1948, Palmowska became a defining figure of Poland’s “golden era” of high-altitude climbing. As reported by TVP World, she began climbing in the Tatras in 1969, forging a long partnership with Anna Czerwińska that would become one of the strongest women’s teams of their generation. Together, they completed major ascents in the Alps – including the north face of the Matterhorn – and went on to open new ground in the Himalayas and Karakoram.

Her resume included many landmark achievements. ExplorersWeb notes her first female ascent of Rakaposhi in 1979; the first woman’s ascent of Broad Peak in 1983, completed alpine style with Czerwińska; and the first all-female ascent of Nanga Parbat in 1985 with Czerwińska and Wanda Rutkiewicz. She later reached approximately 8,200 meters on K2’s Magic Line in 1986.

Palmowska held a PhD in electrical engineering and authored several books. As detailed on The Bold and Cold, she co-authored Dwa razy Matterhorn (1980) and later wrote the memoir Zaklęty w górski kamień (2003), earning the Super Kolos award in March 2025 for lifetime achievement.

Her death marks the loss of a pioneering climber whose bold ascents, partnership-driven style, and literary work shaped the history of women’s high-altitude mountaineering.

Read the full tribute to Climbers We Lost in 2025 here.

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