Wanda Rutkiewicz – crossing boundaries in women’s mountaineering

Abstract

The Polish computer engineer Wanda Rutkiewicz was a leading figure in Himalayan mountaineering in the 1970s and 1980s. By the time of her disappearance – while climbing Kanchenjunga in 1992 – she had successfully climbed eight of the fourteen 8000 m peaks in the Himalayas. From the beginning of her climbing career she was actively involved in organizing expeditions, particularly for female rope teams. She promoted the separate evaluation of ascents by purely female teams. After becoming the first European woman to scale Mount Everest (in 1978), she continued to extend her transnational contacts in Europe, Asia and the US. This increased her ability to organize mountaineering expeditions, although she always maintained a strong connection to the Polish climbing community and institutions. Furthermore, she actively sought media attention by publishing books and articles and giving interviews. She also produced mountaineering film documentaries.