Jerzy Kukuczka was born on 24 March 1948 in Katowice-Bogucice. Both parents came from Istebna, a small village in the Silesian Beskids. As he used to say: "My soul and heart are highland — I always remember my Istebna origin."
After finishing primary school he began vocational training at the Signal Equipment Factory in Katowice, where he also worked. At the same time he trained weightlifting at HKS "Szopienice", reaching 325 kg in the triathlon. When his coach forced him to choose — weights or mountains — the choice was obvious.
On 4 September 1965 a friend persuaded him to go climbing in the crags near Podlesice. He described its impact: "I made a fantastic discovery. The rock play absorbed me so much that everything else stopped mattering." That was when he joined the Harcerski Klub Taternicki (Scout Mountaineering Club).
The next stage was joining the Katowice Mountaineering Club. In 1966 he completed a climbing course at Morskie Oko and climbed his first route — the Classic Route on the north-west face of Mnich. His instructors were Janusz Kurczab and Kazimierz Liszka.
Following years brought perfection in crags and Tatras, including the famous "Variant R" on Mnich and the Kazalnica pillar. After military service, in winter 1971 Kukuczka returned to the Tatras with renewed energy, making the first winter ascent of the "Kurtykówka" route.
Winter 1971 proved tragic — his permanent partner Piotr Skorupa died on Kazalnica Mięguszowiecka. The next winter brought more first winter ascents, earning him a place in the club's expedition to the Dolomites, where he co-led a new route on Torre Trieste ("Direttissima delli Polacci").
His first high-mountain expedition was to the Alaska Range (1973), then North America (1974). In 1975 he married Cecylia Ogrodzińska. That same year he completed a mountaineering trainer degree with a thesis on subarctic Alaska ranges.
The 1976 Hindukush expedition so absorbed him that his workplace terminated his employment. Though ill, he reached a personal altitude record on Kohe Tez. From then on the path led only higher — his first Himalayan expedition (Nanga Parbat, 1977) failed, but two years later he climbed Lhotse (8511 m).
In the celebrated 1980 Everest expedition he did not take part initially (his wife was expecting), but joined the spring attempt, summiting via the South Pillar with Andrzej Czok. The following three years saw a rapid accumulation of eight-thousanders: in 1981 he climbed Makalu (8463 m) solo, via a new route; in 1982 Broad Peak (8047 m) with Wojciech Kurtyka.
1983 brought two more eight-thousanders within three weeks — Gasherbrum I (8068 m) and II (8035 m), both with Kurtyka. Their partnership became legendary for its bold alpine-style ascents.
On 21 January 1984 he summited Cho Oyu, and on 18 September 1984 — as the first man ever — he climbed the south face of Shishapangma. That same year he completed the Crown of the Himalayas (all 14 eight-thousanders) in just 8 years, faster than Reinhold Messner's 16.
His style was pure: 13 of 14 summits without oxygen, 4 in winter (including Annapurna and Kangchenjunga). On 24 October 1989, during an attempt on Lhotse (8511 m) with Ryszard Pawłowski, his rope broke at over 8300 m. Kukuczka fell and died. He was 41.
He left behind "Mój Pionowy Świat" (My Vertical World), published in English as "Challenge The Vertical" — a testimony of a man who, as Messner said, "was not second, he was great."