Krystyna Palmowska

Krystyna Palmowska (11 November 1948 – 15 June 2025) was a Polish alpinist, high-altitude mountaineer and engineer. Palmowska became known for her mountaineering expeditions in the late 1970s and 1980s, where she was recognized as one of Poland's most notable female climbers of her generation. In 1983, Palmowska was the first woman to summit Broad Peak and two years later was part of the first all-female summit of Nanga Parbat.

Biography Palmowska was born in Warsaw on 11 November 1948. Palmowska joined the Warsaw Mountaineering Club in 1969. There, she began to climb regularly with all-women's climbing teams, gaining experience in the High Tatras. After meeting climbing partner Anna Czerwińska, the pair would become known for their ascents of some of the Tatras' most difficult routes, including winter ascents.

In 1979 Palmowska and Czerwińska made a new ascent of Rakaposhi (7,788m). It was the first women's ascent of the mountain. In 1980, she was part of an expedition to Kanchenjunga. Palmowska reached 7,000 m on the Abruzzi Rib before descending.

In 1985, she was part of the first all-female expedition team to summit Nanga Parbat (8,126m). In 1986, Czerwińska and Palmowska reached 8,200m up K2's Magic Line route, before descending.