Alison Chadwick-Onyszkiewicz

In 1978, she took part in the American Women's Himalayan Expedition to Annapurna, the tenth highest mountain in the world. It consisted of all female foreign climbers, designed to give women the opportunity to climb a major peak at a time when they were often excluded from expeditions.[8] Chadwick-Onyszkiewicz was one of the few non Americans, and was considered one of their best climbers. Annapurna had very few ascents at the time, and they found it to be more treacherous than anticipated, with multiple avalanches causing severe delays in their progress. It is now considered the world's most deadly mountain, with the highest death rate of any 8000er.[9] During the expedition Chadwick-Onyszkiewicz noted "It's the most dangerous mountain I've been on" in a letter to her husband.[1][10]

The expedition was successful, with Vera Komarkova, Irene Beardsley (formerly Miller), Mingma Tsering Sherpa and Chewang Ringjin Sherpa reaching the summit. However, Chadwick-Onyszkiewicz was keen for a female only team to succeed, so she and climbing partner Vera Watson made a second summit push to the unclimbed second peak.[10] Since many of the climbers had already descended due to frostbite and sickness or were too exhausted, they departed camp III for the summit alone and with very little support in the upper camps.[3]

They missed a scheduled radio call that night, but others in the expedition were tired and unable to mount a rescue. Three days later Mingma and Lhakpa Norbu Sherpa found their bodies next to a crevasse below camp IV. It was speculated that they fell on an ice slope near camp V, perhaps due to avalanche or rockfall.[2][8][3]

A memorial fund, administered by the Mount Everest Foundation, was created in her memory. Its aim is "to provide grants to further British and Polish women's mountaineering in the world's greater ranges, ie: further afield than the Alps".[11]