1930s Polish Andean expeditions

The First Polish Andean Expedition of 1933-34 was led by Konstanty Narkiewicz-Jodka. Its achievements included several first ascents of six-thousanders - first ascent of Mercedario and Cerro Ramada, ascents to La Mesa, Alma Negra, and the discovery of Pico Polaco (6050 m), as well as ascents to five-thousanders - including Cerro Negro (5550 m) and exploration of the Aconcagua region; the latter involved pioneering a new climbing route.

The Second Polish Andean Expedition of 1936-37 was led by Justyn Wojsznis. Its achievements included the first ascents of Ojos del Salado and Nevado Pissis.

Both expeditions have been credited with gathering scientific data and have led to a number of literary works being produced (such as autobiographical memoirs).

First Polish Andean Expedition

The First Polish Andean Expedition of 1933–1934 to the Argentinian region of the Cordillera de la Ramada was also the first Polish organized mountaineering and research expedition (Poland regained independence in 1918 in the aftermath of the First World War). The expedition gained worldwide fame.

Expeditions members included: Konstanty Narkiewicz-Jodko (physicist and leader of the expedition), Stefan Daszyński (engineer and geologist), Jan Kazimierz Dorawski (medical doctor), Adam Karpiński (aircraft designer), Stefan Osiecki (architect and painter) and Wiktor Ostrowski (an engineer).

During the expedition, the participants climbed the following peaks (chronologically):

January 3, 1934: Trabante I (4860 m above sea level; Dorawski and Karpiński)

January 9.: Trabante II (5300 m above sea level; Narkiewicz-Jodko and Ostrowski)

January 16: Pilar Grande (6000 m above sea level; Karpiński)

January 18: Mercedario (6720 m above sea level; Karpiński, Ostrowski, Daszyński and Osiecki - it was the first ascent of this peak in history)

January 26: Cerro Wanda (5271 m above sea level; Karpiński and Dorawski - a then-unknown peak, named by Polish explorers, also known in English as "Wanda Peak")

January 27: Cerro Negro (5550 m above sea level; Dorawski, Karpiński, Ostrowski)

February 9: Alma Negra (6110 m above sea level; Dorawski and Ostrowski)

February 10: La Mesa (6150 m above sea level; Dorawski and Ostrowski)

c. February 10: Cerro Ramada (6410 m above sea level; Narkiewicz-Jodko – first ascent)

March 8: Aconcagua (6960 m above sea level - the highest peak of the Andes, South America and all of America; Ostrowski, Daszyński, Osiecki, Narkiewicz-Jodko; new eastern road; the so-called "Polish Route" or "Ruta de los Polacos" near the Polish Glacier).

Other successes of the expedition include the discovery of a six-thousander, called Cerro N by Polish explorers, but not conquered until 1958. or 1962 (the first ascent was done by an expedition from Argentina; the Argentine geographers changed the name to Pico Polaco to honor the Polish first attempt). Similarly, in honor of the Polish explorers, the glaciers flowing down from Mercedario later received the names: Glacier Ostrowski and Glacier Karpiński (Glaciar Karpiński and Glaciar Ostrowski ).

The expedition was also of scientific importance, in terms of geographical and geological exploration (including fields of tectonics and stratigraphy, paleontology and petrography), as well as meteorological observations. Dorawski's medical observations on the functioning of the human body in mountain conditions were also useful for the field of medicine.