Skier Becomes the First to Ski Down Mount Everest Without Additional Oxygen

Andrzej Bargiel has become the first person to climb up and ski down Mount Everest without additional oxygen.

The extreme skier from Poland, 37, carried his skis on his back while climbing up the 5.5-mile peak before he began making his way down the slopes on Monday, Sept. 22 at around 3 p.m, according to U.K. newspaper The Times.

In a joint Instagram video with Red Bull and Red Bull Polska, Bargiel could be seen climbing to the top of the mountain before skiing down its incredibly steep surface.

“World first skiing down Mount Everest without bottled oxygen,” the caption across the video read.

Bargiel then said in the audio, “I am on top of the highest mountain in the world, and I’m going to descend it on skis.”

After reaching the top, the climber skied to Camp Two at nearly 4 miles and had an overnight rest before skiing to Base Camp at another 3.3 miles the following morning, per The Times.

Bargiel  was awarded with a scarf called Tibetan khada, which is a symbol of respect in Nepal, according to the outlet.

Mount Everest’s summit is located by the China–Nepal border.

Bargiel’s team also told the newspaper that the achievement was a “milestone in the world of ski mountaineering.”

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The climber was reportedly trapped by snowfall for 16 hours. This took place when he reached above 5 miles in an area known as the “death zone,” thanks to the lack of oxygen, per The Times.

“Sky is the limit? Not for Poles!,” Polish prime minister Donald Tusk wrote on X. “Andrzej Bargiel just skied down Mount Everest, Ola Mirosław climbed fastest to gold and a record again, Rafał Modrzewski is conquering the world with his satellites, @astro_slawosz is planning more space expeditions.”

Celebrating his achievement, Bargiel expressed his appreciation on his Instagram page.

“The first ever skiing downhill from the summit of Mount Everest without the use of additional oxygen ⛷️🏔️Thanks everyone for keeping your fingers crossed! 🙌,” he wrote. “Huge thanks to the @sevensummittreks , @sdawa9044 @14dawa, team – without you this success would not be possible 🙏.”

He added, “I would like to thank all the Partners for your support and for believing in the success of this project for so long! 🙏I would also like to thank my whole team for being with me on this project.”

While Bargiel is the first to climb and descend the mountain without bottled oxygen, Reinhold Messner was the first person to climb Mount Everest without supplementary oxygen in 1978.

Meanwhile, Bargiel became the first person to ski down the second highest mountain in the world,  K2 in Pakistan, in 2018, per The Times.

He also became the first person to ski over Karakoram range’s four peaks’ 5 miles in 2023.