Maciej Berbeka

Who was Maciej Berbeka?

Maciej Berbeka was a Polish mountaineer, mountain guide UIAGM and member of TOPR. He and his teammate Tomasz Kowalski went missing on 6 March 2013 as they were descending from Broad Peak. They were declared dead two days later.

Berbeka's accomplishments include making the first winter ascents of Manaslu, on 12 January 1984, with Ryszard Gajewski; of Cho Oyu, on 12 February 1985, with Maciej Pawlikowski; and of Broad Peak, on 5 March 2013 with Adam Bielecki, Tomasz Kowalski and Artur Małek. He also climbed and summited Annapurna and Mount Everest. He was also the first person to reach 8000 m in Karakoram - Rocky Summit in the winter of 1988, on 6 March. This had occurred exactly 25 years before to the day when he was reported missing.