Ryszard Pawłowski

Courage and determination

Ryszard Pawłowski (born 1950), in his over 40-year career has repeatedly been marked by great courage and determination in pursuing his goal. He climbed 11 eight-thousand-meter peaks (including K2 – 8611 metres above sea level). As the only Pole he climbed Mount Everest five times (8848 metres above sea level), where he spent the night on a rock shelf in the death zone (area lying more than 8000 metres above sea level – a person is not able to survive there long because of hypoxia causing lung and brain edema). He is the world record holder at the entrance to Ama Dablam (6856 metres above sea level), where he was 28 times. He organized and made over 300 trips to the high mountains. He belongs to the prestigious association “The Explorers Club”, which brings together about 3,000 explorers and researchers from around the world. He was a climbing partner of Jerzy Kukuczka, Adam Zyzak, Piotr Pustelnik, Janusz Majer, Krzysztof Wielicki and other famous climbers.

Passion and profession

He’s an electrical engineer by profession, and for a long time he combined evening studies with a full-time job in a coal mine, where he later repeatedly received proposals for lucrative positions. Ultimately, he devoted himself to climbing, for which he did not have much time for because of his education and professional duties. Later he became a high-mountain guide, combining love for the mountains with work. When he could finally devote more time to climbing, he also climbed in difficult conditions (in his book “The Taste of the Mountains” he wrote: “I threw myself into the mountains, like hungry for food.”) Which, he thinks, helped him in difficult situations, including Mount Everest.

For 20 years he has been running the Patagonia Mountain Agency, enabling mountain lovers to experience the adventures of their lives. Every year he regularly organizes trips around the world – from easy trekking to ambitious mountaineering trips to the high mountains.

Ryszard Pawłowski also actively pursues his passion for photography and filming. He is a laureate of prizes and awards in the fields of photography and documentary film. He is the author of the book “Taste of Mountains”, and his biography was written by Piotr Drożdż – “Ryszard Pawłowski. 40 years in the mountains”.

Imprint

Ryszard Pawłowski

Date and place of birth: 1950, Bogatynia, Poland
Profession: electrical engineer, high mountain guide

Achievements:

▲  He climbed to 11 out of 14 eight-thousanders – Broad Peak, Annapurna, Nanga Parbat, Mount Everest (5 times), Lhotse, K2, Gasherbrum I, Gasherbrum II (3 times), Cho Oyu (2 times), Shishapangma, Manaslu.

▲  Other: Kohe Tez, Kohe Shan (Hindu Kush), Pik Ismail Samani, Langtang Lirung (first Polish entrance), Pumori (classical way), Ushba, Fitz Roy, Ama Dablam (first Polish entrance), Torres del Paine (first Polish entrance).

▲  As a guide he climbed: 28 times on Ama Dablam, 34 times on Aconcagua, 35 times on Elbrus, 9 times on Denali (McKinley), 35 times on Island Peak, 2 times on Pumori, 2 times on Cotopaxi, 2 times on Kazbek.