Poland’s Adam Bielecki and Canadian Louis Rousseau set out on September 17 to chart technical approaches to two ‘virgin peaks’ in one of the ranges surrounding the Hunza Valley in Pakistan.
In an Instagram post just over three weeks later, Bielecki revealed that on Sunday, following a challenging six-hour climb to reach the 5,750-meter peak, upon reaching the top they had decided to call it Bolongan Sar, meaning ‘Potato Peak’.
Describing the moment on Instagram, Bielecki ended by saying: “Don’t even ask.”
The following day they scaled another peak between 5,945 and 6,152 meters above sea level (each of the mountaineer’s instruments showed a different result), which they christened Zan Sar, or Rusty Peak, for the prevalent color of the rocks.
For Bielecki, the two peaks are respectively the fourth virgin five-thousander and third virgin six-thousander in Pakistan.
Bielecki and Roussea also identified a potential descent route from their main goal of the expedition, two more peaks of 6,500 and 6,700 meters above sea level, which they intend to be the first to conquer and name Atta’niz Sar, “Two Father’s peak”.
Wait, they named the mountain what?
Although a staple vegetable in many countries, in Poland potatoes reign supreme and are served as part of the main meal almost daily in Polish households.
Potatoes first arrived in Poland following King John III Sobieski’s victory at Vienna, where in 1683 he led a multinational force that successfully relieved the city from an Ottoman siege.
But King John’s courtiers were underwhelmed by the tubers, and it was not until the mid-18th century that they began to slowly gain popularity with the peasants.
Over the next century, however, the vegetable’s versatility revealed itself to the Poles. Its low requirements for the soil made it perfect for cultivation in certain agriculturally depressed areas of the country.
Not only did this largely eliminate previously widespread famine conditions among the population, displacing such staples as bread and buckwheat, but the abundance of potatoes meant it could be fed not only to people but also used as livestock feed.
Once Poles discovered it could be used to make spirits, the potato’s place at the top of the nutrition pyramid was sealed.
As of 2022, an average Pole ate 93.8 kilograms of potatoes annually, winning Poles the respectable sixth place in the global potato consumption ranking.
