Veteran 8,000m skier Andrzej Bargiel of Poland is heading to Nepal to climb and ski down Dhaulagiri. With a major snowstorm hitting the mountain, his team will need patience for conditions to settle down.
If he succeeds, Dhaulagiri will be the second 8,000m peak he has climbed this year, after his complete, non-stop descent of Pakistan’s Nanga Parbat (8,125m) in June.
The team
As usual, the Polish skier has not provided details on the expedition, except for the members of his team. Bargiel will count on Kuba Poburka as a supporting climber, and a film crew with cameramen Bartek Pawlikowski and Pasang Rinzee Sherpa, and Maciej Sulima as drone operator.
Bargiel and his Dhalagiri team. Photo: Bargiel’s Press Team
Based on his past 8,000m efforts, we can assume that Bargiel will not use supplemental oxygen and will attempt a complete ski descent from the summit.
If history repeats, he will have an elaborate support team, which is good news for the few other climbers on Dhaulagiri. The more resources on the route, the higher everyone’s summit chances.
Dhaulagiri is currently experiencing a major snowstorm. Paul Clarke of Australia told ExplorersWeb from Base Camp that there is a lot of snow, howling winds at altitude, and many big avalanches sweeping down the mountain.
Dhaulagiri’s Base Camp yesterday. Photo: Paul Clarke/The Mountain Pirate
Is he skiing the 14?
Bargiel first came to prominence with the first complete ski descent of K2 in 2018. In 2015, he also skied Broad Peak, and after K2, he did the same on both Gasherbrums. This year, he finished his Pakistan 8,000m resumé with Nanga Parbat, his 8th 8,000’er skied.
Bargiel has also skied Tibet’s Shisha Pangma in 2013 and Nepal’s Manaslu in 2014. Last fall, he completed an impressive no-oxygen ski descent of Everest.
While he has never announced it, it seems Bargiel could be attempting the first climb+ski of the 14 8,000’ers, all without bottled oxygen.
While many of Bargiel’s descents have been world firsts, Dhaulagiri has already been skied completely, without oxygen, by fellow Pole Bartek Ziemski (also a no-O2 Everest skier). Ziemski climbed Dhaulagiri independently with climbing partner and cameraman Oswald Pereira, without Sherpa support or O2.
Then, Ziemski skied down from the summit, while Pereira followed on foot. A couple of days later, the two climbed most of the route again to help rescue Spanish climber Carlos Soria.
Skis on his back, Bartek Ziemski reaches the summit of Dhaulagiri. Photo: Oswald Rodrigo Pereira
