Polish climbers

The Huns, Tatars, Turks, Cossacks, Russians, Germans, Swedes and French have all visited Poland to pillage, murder and suppress. Maybe that’s why the Poles learned to cope with desperate circumstances, and the reason this country has fostered some of the world’s toughest climbers.

In an early 1990s article, the Polish climber Voytek Kurtyka explained what he called “the Polish Syndrome.”
“Despite poverty and limited freedom, climbers were overtaken by a tremendous inspiration to overcome all barriers. The Himalaya offered an exciting escape from the drab system and grey stability of home, and a rare opportunity for creative communication with the outside world.”

“Despite poverty and limited freedom, climbers were overtaken by a tremendous inspiration to overcome all barriers. The Himalaya offered an exciting escape from the drab system and grey stability of home, and a rare opportunity for creative communication with the outside world.”

I am so poor, I might as well go and climb the Himalayas !

That was the point I was making.