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Józef Jerzy Kukuczka (; 24 March 1948 – 24 October 1989) was a Polish Climbing, regarded as one of the greatest high-altitude climbers in history. In 1987, he became the second man (after Reinhold Messner) to climb all 14 in the world, a feat known as the "Crown of the Himalayas." He accomplished this feat in less than eight years, and climbed all, except for Lhotse, by new routes or in winter. He is the only person to have climbed two eight-thousanders in one winter, and his ascents of Cho Oyu, Kangchenjunga and Annapurna were the first winter ascents.
His ascent of K2 in 1986, in alpine style with Tadeusz Piotrowski, is now known as the Polish Line. No other mountaineers have attempted an ascent using the route since.Reinhold Messner, upon hearing that Kukuczka had completed all 14 eight-thousanders, wrote, "You are not second, you are great." The line was reproduced as the epigraph of Kukuczka's book and the Polish translation forms the title of a biography of him published in 2021.
He died in 1989 while attempting to climb the south face of Lhotse.
He climbed his first eight-thousander, Lhotse, in 1979. The following year, he reached the summit of Mount Everest via a new south pillar route. In 1985, he made first winter ascents on Dhaulagiri and Cho Oyu within three weeks. In 1986, he and Krzysztof Wielicki made the first winter ascent of the world's third highest mountain, Kangchenjunga. The same year, Kukuczka established a new route on the unclimbed south face of K2, which he and Tadeusz Piotrowski ascended alpine-style. Their accomplishment pushed the boundaries of Himalayan mountaineering, with Kukuczka regarding this as the "most challenging climb he had ever undertaken at altitude."
Throughout his career, he ascended all 14 eight-thousanders in less than eight years, a feat he achieved on 18 September 1987. He held the world record for shortest time span to summit the eight-thousanders for nearly 27 years until May 2014, when Kim Chang-ho beat his record by one month and eight days. Unlike many other prominent high-altitude climbers of his time, the routes Kukuczka chose were usually original, many of them first ascents and often done during the winter. He established ten new routes on eight-thousanders, which remains a world record, and climbed four in winter. He was one of an elite group of Polish Himalayan mountaineers called the Ice Warriors. They specialized in winter ascents. In 1987, he was named Man of the Year in Poland after summiting all 14 eight-thousanders.
| Normal Route |
| New Route |
| New Route, Alpine style, Solo |
| Normal Route, Alpine style |
| New Route, Alpine style |
| New Route, Alpine style |
| New Route, Alpine style |
| Normal Route, First Winter Ascent |
| Second Winter Ascent |
| New Route |
| Normal Route, First Winter Ascent |
| New Route, Partial alpine style |
| New Route, Alpine style |
| Normal Route, First Winter Ascent |
| New Route, Alpine style, Ski Descent |
| New Route, Alpine style |
Kukuczka married Cecylia ( née Ogrodzińska) with whom he had two sons, Maciej and Wojciech. His younger son, Wojciech, also climbed Mount Everest just like his father. Kukuczka was a Roman Catholic.
The mountain Yak Hotel in Nepal in Dingboche (4400 m a.s.l.) is named after him.
The Jerzy Kukuczka Academy of Physical Education is a public university in Katowice that conducts teaching and research in physical education and rehabilitation.
There is also a street in the Gaj district in Wrocław named after him. In 1988, the Polish Post issued a postage stamp featuring Jerzy Kukuczka honouring his reception of the Olympic Order.
In 2015, a statue of Kukuczka designed by Bogumił Burzyński was unveiled at the main entrance to the Physical Education Academy (AWF) in Katowice. His name was also included on the Monument of Alpine Climbers in Katowice.
He is the subject of the book Kukuczka: Opowieść o najsłynniejszym polskim himalaiście (Kukuczka: Story of the Poland's Greatest Climber) published in 2016 as well as documentary films Kukuczka by Jerzy Porębski and Jurek by Paweł Wysoczański, in 2011 and 2014, respectively. In 2018, Robert Talarczyk directed a play entitled Himalaje (The Himalayas) devoted to the life of Kukuczka, which premiered at the Silesian Theatre in Katowice.
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