About Artur Hajzer
Artur Henryk "Słon” Hajzer (28 June 1962 – 7 July 2013) was a Polish mountaineer. Hajzer summitted seven eight-thousanders, several via new routes (Manaslu’s NE face in 1986, Shishapangma’s east ridge in 1987) and made the first winter climb of Annapurna on February 3, 1987. == Life == Hajzer began climbing at age 14 with the Tatra Scout club. At 16, he completed the COS Betlejemka climbing course in the High Tatras, then going on to climb routes in the Alps on Mont Blanc, including Petit Dru in 1981. As a teenager, he acquired the nickname "the elephant" (Słoń in Polish) for his climbing ability and endurance. At age 20 he began climbing in the Himalayas. At age 21, he summitted Tirich Mir (7,708m) in the Hindu Kush, Pakistan. In 1985 during a club expedition to Lhotse, he lost his then climbing partner, Rafał Chołda in an accident, and where he met his future climbing partner, Jerzy Kukuczka, who would have a considerable impact on Hajzer. Kukuczka and Hajzer would climb together through the rest of the 1980s, making a number of pivotal climbs together, including Manaslu, Shishapangma and the first ascent of Annapurna in winter in 1987. He also summited Annapurna East (8010m) via a new route up the SE face in 1988.
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