On 17 February 1980, as a member of Polish national expedition led by Andrzej Zawada, Wielicki and fellow climber Leszek Cichy became the first to climb an eight-thousander in the winter. He was also the first to make successful winter ascents of Mount Everest, Kangchenjunga, and Lhotse, three out of four highest mountains in the world (K2 remains the only eight-thousander never to have been climbed in winter so far).