Andrzej Bargiel of Poland summited Everest and skied all the way down to Base Camp without supplementary oxygen on September 22, his press team has just announced.
Bargiel’s team noted that the Polish climber needed 16 hours to cover the distance from Camp 4 to the summit. Polish magazine WSpinanie.pl notes he summited with a local climber identified as Dawa “Speed” Sherpa.
Bargiel, already on skis, and Dawa Sherpa filming from the summit of Everest. Drone image by Bartek Bargiel/Redbull Content Pool
Bargiel didn’t ski down all the way back to Base Camp in one go. He reached Camp 2 by nightfall and stopped there until the following morning. “[Then] he resumed skiing, navigating the treacherous Khumbu Icefall before arriving safely at Everest Base Camp.”
The press release notes that Bargiel managed to cross the Icefall completely on skis, without using the fixed ropes.
Four-day ascent
Bargiel and his support team left Base Camp at 4:30 am on September 19.
On September 21, Bargiel left Camp 4 at the South Col (7,900m) at 11:24 pm Nepal time.
“Due to heavy fresh snowfall, which made trail-breaking more difficult, the ascent took much longer than expected, and he spent nearly 16 hours before summiting.”
He summited shortly after 3 pm on September 22. As planned, he completed the climb without supplementary oxygen.
Andrzej Bargiel near the top of Everest during his no-oxygen ascent. Photo: Bartek Bargiel/Red Bull Content Pool
The descent
Bargiel started skiing down just minutes after reaching the top. He slid down the Hillary Step, the South Summit, and the Balcony to the South Col.
“By 5:20 pm, Bargiel had descended below Camp 4 and continued left of the Geneva Spur en route to Camp 2 [where he stopped] at 8:30 pm local time,” the release said.
He started the last leg of the descent at 7 am the following morning.
“[After Camp 1, Bargiel] continued across the slopes of Nuptse, crossing the treacherous Khumbu Icefall on skis, navigating a labyrinth of shifting ice and deep crevasses without ropes or fixed lines, guided in part by a drone flown by his brother, Bartek,” the press release says.
He reached the end of the Icefall and the snowline at Everest Base Camp at 8:45 am local time.
Why the secret?
Andrzej Bargiel during the ascent. Photo: Bartek Bargiel/Red Bull Content Pool
Bargiel is the first to ski Everest completely from the summit to Base Camp without bottled oxygen. Davo Karnicar of Slovenia, who also achieved a complete ski descent in 2000, used oxygen on the upper sections. The few other ski descents on both sides of Everest included some rappel or sections where the climbers had to step out of their skis.
This is no doubt a remarkable achievement that adds to the already impressive career of Bargiel, who has previously climbed and skied down the four 8,000’ers in the Karakoram, including K2 in 2018. All were complete, no-O2 descents.
Bargiel had previously attempted to ski Everest in 2019 and 2022.
This year’s expedition was well-documented, and the team shared regular updates, but for some reason, the successful summit and descent were kept quiet until today. At ExplorersWeb, we received Red Bull’s press release three minutes before writing these lines.
Some 30 minutes before, Bargiel’s team posted a video on social media:
For the rest, we might have to wait for a documentary to be released next year.
Next: the FKT
Hours after Bargiel’s feat, Tyler Andrews of the U.S. launched an attempt to set the Fastest Known Time, also on the south side of Everest, but he aborted at 7,400m. The American athlete will leave Base Camp again today for a second attempt. Read more about his upcoming FKT attempt here.
Both climbs are on the same route on the same mountain, and neither involves supplementary oxygen, but the goals are different. While Bargiel was focused on the ski descent, Andrews’ goal is based on the speed of the ascent [on foot]. All going well, he will continue to speed back to Base Camp.
Bargiel has counted on a powerful support team, including over a dozen Sherpa climbers from Seven Summit Treks and Tomasz Gaj (expedition leader), Patrycja Jonetzko (doctor), Piotr Sadowski (physiotherapist), Jan Gąsienica-Roj (safety manager), Dariusz Załuski (camera operator), Maciej Sulima (camera operator), Bartek Bargiel (drone operator), and Bartek Pawlikowski (photographer).
Andrews has a Base Camp crew but will climb Everest alone, with no one by his side. We don’t know if members of his team are at higher camps or along the route, as they were on his three previous attempts last spring.
