Climber Makes History Skiing Down Everest

Andrzej Bargiel, 37, a Polish adventure skier, has just made history by becoming the first person to climb up and ski down Mount Everest without the use of additional oxygen.

Credit: Bartlomiej Pawlikowski | Red Bull

A Polish adventure skier has made history by becoming the first person to climb up and ski down Mount Everest without the use of additional oxygen. “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,” Bargiel said. “Skiing down Everest without oxygen was a dream that had been growing inside me for years.”

More than 6,000 people have climbed the mountain, according to the Himalayan database, but only about 200 have done it without additional bottled oxygen. At the top of the mountain the air is so thin that climbers only get about a third of the oxygen available at sea level. A few people have skied back down, but never a continuous downhill without supplementary oxygen.

In an interview with the Guardian he said: “No one thought it could be done; even my own brother had doubts. It taught me the value of patience - and that nobody else can make your dreams come true.”

Bargiel’s team said in a statement that it was a “groundbreaking milestone in the world of ski mountaineering”. His achievement caught the attention of Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, who celebrated on X, writing: “Sky is the limit? Not for Poles! Andrzej Bargiel has just skied down Mount Everest.”

His achievement is being hailed as a breakthrough in human endurance, mountaineering, and extreme skiing. It’s the kind of “world first” that proves just how far determination, training, and resilience can push the limits of what humans are capable of.