The perception of Jerzy Kukuczka among the French alpine community through the press media (1979-1989)

In order to understand the perception of Jerzy Kukuczka by the mountaineering community, this study focuses on the receptivity of his exploits in the French culture during his period of activity (1979-1989). As an emblematic actor of international alpinism during the 1980’s, J. Kukuczka contributed with the Polish climbers of the golden generation to establishing new standards of diffi culty in the Himalayas. While his achievements remain internationally known, no study has looked at the way his expeditions have been portrayed in the media. It emerges that the image left by the character is that of an ice warrior resistant to pain. J. Kukuczka embodies the man of the people who, thanks to his willpower, managed to emancipate himself from his condition as a miner to reach the summits. The spectacle of his competition with Reinhold Messner contributed to his fame: his innovative itineraries underline a performative aim where the mountain becomes a place of sporting confrontation.