Polish ski mountaineer Andrzej Bargiel has written a new chapter in mountaineering history. On September 22, 2025, the 37-year-old became the first person to climb ski from Mount Everest without using bottled oxygen, setting a world record.
Bargiel’s journey began with a long and exhausting climb. He spent almost 16 hours in Everest’s “death zone”, the part of the mountain above 8,000 meters where oxygen levels are dangerously low and the human body struggles to survive. Few climbers even attempt the summit without bottled oxygen. Bargiel not only reached the top this way, but also prepared to do something no one else had ever achieved: a complete ski descent from the summit.
At the very top of Mount Everest, he clipped into his skis and began sliding down the South Col Route. The descent was extremely challenging. As night fell, he stopped at Camp II, because skiing further in the darkness would have been too dangerous.
The next morning, he faced the most technical part of the mountain, the Khumbu Icefall. Here, his brother Bartek flew a drone to help him find a safer route through the maze of shifting ice towers. Thanks to skill, preparation, and teamwork, Bargiel finally reached Base Camp safely.
This incredible Andrzej Bargiel Everest feat 2025 is more than just a personal success. While more than 6,000 people have climbed Everest over the years, fewer than 200 have done so without supplementary oxygen, but to ski down Everest without oxygen sets Bargiel apart from everyone else.
Speaking afterwards, Bargiel admitted how difficult it was
“The ascent was very hard because other expeditions were closed at this time of year. That meant more work and tougher conditions. It would have been easier to go straight from Base Camp to the summit, but the weather and snow did not allow it. I had never spent so much time at such an altitude in my life. You have to be extremely well prepared to function for 16 hours above 8,000 meters.”
If you are wondering who Andrzej Bargiel is, he is a Polish ski mountaineer famous for bold climb and ski projects. In 2018, he became the first person to ski down K2, the world’s second-highest mountain, from its summit to base. That achievement already made him one of the most respected athletes in extreme mountaineering. Now, with his Everest ski descent, he has gone even further, doing what many thought was impossible.
By becoming the world first person to climb ski from Mount Everest, and doing it without bottled oxygen, Bargiel has reached a level of achievement that few can imagine. His record may stand for decades, inspiring future climbers and skiers to push the limits of what humans can do at the very top of the world.
