Jan Długosz (mountaineer)


Jan Długosz was a Polish mountaineer and writer. He lived in Kraków. In 1961 he participated in the first ascent of the Central Pillar of Frêney on Mont Blanc by a British-Polish team.

Career

Długosz became the leading Polish climber in the mid-1950s due to his significant climbs in the Tatras, including the two hardest one at the date, routes in 1955. He made the first winter ascents of the biggest walls in Polish Tatras in 1956-57, which demanded innovative tactics and techniques.
He successfully climbed in the Alps and in Caucasus.

Writings

He was an author of a more than 60 articles and stories about mountaineering which were published in professional magazines and popular media. Although he had tried to get a compilation of his best works published, the book wasn't pushed until nearly two years after his death. The book Komin Pokutników, including 13 mountaineering stories, appeared in 1964 and is still considered one of the best books about climbing written in Polish were published in 1994 and 1995.
Jan Długosz died on July 12, 1962 in an accident, falling from the ridge of Zadni Kościelec in High Tatras.