Polish Mountaineer Skis Down Everest Without Supplementary Oxygen
27th September 2025
Last modified on September 28th, 2025
Andrzej Bargiel has become the first person ever to ski down Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen. UPDATED
The 37-year-old spent 16 hours in the death zone where climbers receive only a third of normal oxygen levels.
He then skied back down to base camp navigating dangerous ice falls with guidance from a drone operated by his brother.
He succeeded on his third attempt at Everest after previous failed expeditions in 2019 and 2022.
“It’s one of the most important milestones in my sports career,” he said.
“Skiing down Everest without oxygen was a dream that had been growing inside me for years.
“I knew that the difficult autumn conditions and plotting the descent line through the Khumbu Glacier would be the greatest challenge I could ever face.”
Andrzej Bargiel on Everest. © Bartłomiej Bargiel/Red Bull Content Pool.
“I split the descent into two parts, as navigating the technically difficult Icefall in relatively safe conditions was only possible in the morning.
“The summit itself was arduous and difficult.
“I’d never spent so much time at such an altitude in my life, so that was a challenge in itself.”
See here for more:
More than 6,000 people have climbed Everest, but fewer than 200 have ever done it without supplementary oxygen.
Read more on SNO about the attempts to ski down Mt Everest.
Skiing back down again afterwards, however, is a huge, individual achievement – and is something that’s never been done before.
Andrzej Bargiel on Everest. © Bartłomiej Bargiel/Red Bull Content Pool.
Bargiel already had a reputation for doing the impossible.
PlanetSKI was in Chamonix at the time with the British mountaineer, Alan Hinkes, who has climbed K2 and the other 8,000m peaks in the Himalayas.
Alan is the first, and remains the only, British mountaineer to have climbed all 14 Himalayan eight-thousanders.
Our editor, James Cove, spoke to him about Andrzej Bargiel’s achievement.
Andrzej Bargiel on Everest. © Bartłomiej Bargiel/Red Bull Content Pool.
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