EverestHistory.com: Chris Kopczynski

It’s not unusual for teenagers, impressed by a majestic view of distant mountains, to express a sudden desire to become a mountaineer and scale those very peaks. It is unusual however for them to actually do it. Such is the case with Spokanite Chris Kopczynski.

Kopczynski was beset with “mountain fever” in the early 60's while with his family in the Canadian Rockies. The mountain fog suddenly cleared revealing a spread of previously hidden peaks. The view was enough to send 16-year-old Kopczynski back to Spokane with a determination to climb. And climb he did.

Steven’s Peak was a modest “first summit” which was eventually followed by an impressive string of climbs including, Makalu, Everest, Peak Lenin, McKinley, Aconcagua, the Eiger, Matterhorn, Kilimanjaro, Chephron, Rainier (51 times), and Chimney Rock (more than 35 times).

In 1966 Kopczynski carved the names Everest and Eiger into his ice axe. It was a symbol of a goal he would fulfill by summiting Eiger’s North Face in 1974 and Everest on October 21^st, 1981. After ascending the world’s tallest mountain Kopczynski went on to complete the 7 summits (the tallest peaks on all seven continents) with a summit of Kilimanjaro in Africa in 1991.

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