Wanda Rutkiewicz. The Last Expedition

Name: Wanda Rutkiewicz. The Last Expedition
Genre: Documentary
Released: 2024
Duration: 80 min
Cast: Wanda Rutkiewicz, Reinhold Messner, Krzysztof Wielicki

Eliza Kubarska20241h 20mDocumentary

Why we chose it

Eliza Kubarska, a director who is also a climber, follows in the footsteps of Wanda Rutkiewicz, the legendary Polish Himalayan mountaineer, with unique tapes that no one had heard before. Rutkiewicz recorded them before she left for Kangchenjunga, and she never came back.

Synopsis

In May 1992, Wanda Rutkiewicz, the first Pole ever to stand on top of Everest, leaves the last camp on Kangchenjunga in the Himalayas and heads for the summit. Above 8,000 metres, Carlos Carsolio finds her sitting in the snow without a tent, but he can’t persuade her to come down. No one ever sees her again. Three decades later, boxes full of her letters, film reels and photographs turn up.