Polish daredevil becomes first to climb and ski down Mount Everest without bottled oxygen

Andrzej Bargiel, 37, a Polish climber and extreme-sports athlete, has become the first person to climb Mount Everest and ski back down without using bottled oxygen. He began the descent from the summit at 3:00 p.m. local time Monday, skiing about 2,450 metres to Camp Two at 6,400 metres. After an overnight rest, he resumed the descent on Tuesday morning and reached Base Camp at 5,364 metres, completing roughly a 3,500-metre drop from summit to the mountain’s base.

Bargiel and his guide, Dawa “Speed” Sherpa, faced autumn conditions that complicated the ascent and the descent. During the four-day push to the summit, fresh heavy snowfall trapped the pair in the death zone above 8,000 metres for about 16 hours, a duration during which the air is thin enough to challenge even well-acclimatized climbers. Bargiel told Red Bull that the window for weather this time of year makes the undertaking especially perilous and that functioning at high altitude requires meticulous preparation to survive extended periods above 8,000 metres.

The descent included a treacherous passage through the Khumbu Icefall, a 1.6-mile (2.57-kilometre) labyrinth of shifting crevasses, snow bridges and overhanging ice blocks. Bargiel’s team says a drone flown by his brother helped guide him through the icefall without needing ropes or stopping to remove his skis at any point, a feat previously accomplished only once before, by Davo Karnicar of Slovenia in 2000. Bargiel says the achievement was made possible by planning around autumn conditions and plotting a line down the glacier that would be survivable without supplemental oxygen.

Upon reaching Base Camp, Bargiel was welcomed with a Tibetan khata, a traditional scarf given to mark significant moments in a person’s life. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk celebrated the achievement on social media, calling Bargiel’s feat a sign of what Poles can accomplish. Bargiel’s descent marks a historic milestone, but it is also part of a broader project to complete all 14 of the world’s eight-thousanders without supplemental oxygen. He has already skiied down six of the peaks and has previously completed notable no-oxygen ascents in the Karakoram and on K2, where he became the first to ski down in 2018. In 2023, he also completed a mission to ski all four eight-thousanders in the Karakoram range.

The Everest ascent and descent come amid ongoing debates about commercial expeditions on the mountain and the associated risks and environmental impact. Bargiel’s effort underscores the growing interest in pushing the boundaries of high-altitude skiing, even as climbers continue to grapple with the extreme conditions that define Everest’s so-called death zone. Bargiel’s team and supporters say the attempt required careful preparation, a conservative approach to risk, and mastery of both mountaineering and alpine skiing techniques to execute the unprecedented route without supplemental oxygen.