Andrzej Bargiel Skis from the Summit of Mount Everest to Base Camp, Without Supplementary Oxygen.

Red Bull athlete Andrzej Bargiel (37) has made history as the first person ever to climb Mount Everest (8,849 metres) without supplementary oxygen and complete a full ski descent to Everest Base Camp.

After climbing from Camp IV for nearly 16 hours in the mountain’s “death zone” above 8,000 metres, he clipped into his skis at the summit on September 22, and descended via the South Col, reaching Camp II by nightfall, making safe navigation impossible, and resting for the night. The following morning, he resumed skiing, navigating the treacherous Khumbu Icefall before arriving safely at Everest Base Camp.

Already renowned as the only athlete to ski from the summits of all the Karakoram eight-thousanders - including the first and only full ski descent of K2 (2018) - without supplementary oxygen, Bargiel now becomes the first in history to extend that legacy to the world’s highest mountain.

Key Facts

Athlete: Andrzej Bargiel (POL), age 37.
Mountain: Mount Everest (8,849 metres) - The highest mountain on Earth.
Location: Central Himalaya, on the border of Nepal and China.
Total Time: 4 days, 4 hours, and 15 minutes - departing Everest Base Camp at 04:30 local time on September 19 and returning at 08:45 on September 23.
Support Team: Tomasz Gaj (Expedition Leader), Patrycja Jonetzko (Doctor), Piotr Sadowski (Physiotherapist), Jan Gąsienica-Roj (Safety Manager), Dariusz Załuski (Sport Support, Camera Operator), Maciej Sulima (Camera Operator), Bartek Bargiel (Drone Operator), Bartek Pawlikowski (Photographer), Seven Summits Treks and the Team of Expedition Sherpas.

Everest Base Camp to Camp IV: On September 19, Andrzej Bargiel left Everest Base Camp at 04:30 local time and followed an acclimatisation protocol, making several ascents and descents between the camps. This gradual rotation through Camps I, II, and III allowed him to adapt to the extreme altitude before establishing himself at Camp IV on the South Col (7,900 metres), ready for the final summit push.

Summit Push: On September 21, Bargiel left Camp IV at the South Col (~7,900 metres) at 23:24 local time. Due to heavy fresh snowfall, which made trail-breaking more difficult, the ascent lasted much longer than expected. He spent a total of nearly 16 hours in the death zone before summiting at 15:00 on September 22, without supplementary oxygen.

Ski Descent (Summit to Camp II): After reaching the summit at around 15:17 local time, Bargiel spent only minutes on top before clipping into his skis and beginning his descent. By 15:35, he had passed below the famous Hillary Step, continuing on towards the South Summit. At 15:45, he was seen riding along the ridge before reaching the Balcony and later the South Col. By 17:20, Bargiel had descended below Camp IV and continued left of the Geneva Spur en route to Camp II. He arrived at Camp II (~6,400 metres) at 20:30 local time, by which point it was already dark, making safe navigation impossible.

Ski Descent (Camp II to Everest Base Camp): On September 23, around 07:00 local time, Bargiel resumed skiing from Camp II, descending along the Mount Everest shoulder walls. By 07:50, he had passed Camp I, continuing 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. He reached the end of icefall and the snowline at Everest Base Camp at 08:45 local time, completing the first-ever ski descent of Mount Everest without supplementary oxygen.

Andrzej Bargiel: "It’s one of the most important milestones in my sports career. Skiing down Everest without oxygen was a dream that had been growing inside me for years. I knew that the difficult autumn conditions and plotting the descent line through the Khumbu Glacier would be the greatest challenge I could ever face."

Dr. Patrycja Jonetzk - Expedition Doctor: "If you look at human physiology with such a small amount of oxygen in the air, what Andrzej has achieved goes beyond human capabilities. At this altitude, without supplemental oxygen, the body has to fight for every single step."

Bartek Bargiel - Brother of Andrzej and Drone Operator: "Just navigating such difficult terrain was a big challenge for me. The fact that I was guiding my own brother certainly didn’t make it any easier (laughs). The hardest moments were crossing the ridge and the glacier. When Andrzej made it through those sections, I could finally breathe and enjoy the last moments of the descent together with him. It’s an important moment for me. The stakes were enormous, and the fact that my brother once again achieved something as the first person in the world - showing such tremendous resilience and spirit - fills me with immense pride."

Dariusz Załuski - Climber: "Bargiel’s 2018 ski descent from K2 set new standards in ski mountaineering. His Everest descent only confirmed his extraordinary skills, not only in sports performance, but also in endurance and mental resilience." Dariusz Załuski, supported Bargiel on the expedition.

Adrian Ballinger - American Mountain Guide who Summited Everest Nine Times: "His successful complete ski descent of Everest without supplementary oxygen is monumental - combining the challenge of climbing the world’s tallest peak without oxygen (spending 16 hours above 8,000 meters on the ascent, and doing it in the unusual and empty autumn season), with the huge descent on skis through technical and exposed terrain, is almost impossible to comprehend. While many have skied parts of Everest, Andrzej skied a complete line from the summit to the base camp. The energy and focus necessary to pull this off without bottled oxygen is mind blowing."

Limits of Human Endurance

This Everest descent represents a breakthrough at the very limits of human endurance and alpine achievement. More than 6,000 people have climbed Mount Everest, but only around 200 have done so without supplementary oxygen - less than three per cent of all summit achievements.

The Physiology of the Death Zone

At the altitude of Everest’s summit - roughly the cruising height of a passenger jet - the reduced air pressure means climbers are breathing only about one-third of the oxygen available at sea level.

In the 1960s, medical studies suggested that at such an altitude the human body could only survive at rest, and that any attempt to climb without bottled oxygen would almost certainly be fatal or cause lasting damage. For years, experts considered it beyond the limits of human physiology.

That assumption was overturned in 1978 when Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler reached the summit without oxygen, proving what had once been thought impossible. Their ordeal showed just how narrow the margin for life is in Everest’s “death zone” and why such feats were long considered unattainable.

Spending around 16 hours in Everest’s death zone underscored the scale of Bargiel’s achievement. At this altitude decision-making deteriorates rapidly, and the risk of fatal brain or lung oedema soars. Most summit pushes are kept to a fraction of this time, even with bottled oxygen.

Such prolonged exposure without oxygen places immense strain on the body, making Bargiel’s safe descent a remarkable demonstration of human endurance at the very edge of physiological capabilities.

A World First in Ski Mountaineering

While Everest has been skied before with bottled oxygen, no athlete in history had ever completed an ascent and ski descent from the summit to Base Camp without supplementary oxygen.

Bargiel’s achievement crowns a career defined by world-firsts without supplementary oxygen. He is the only mountaineer in history to have skied down both Mount Everest and K2 without bottled oxygen. Alongside these feats, he has also completed the first-ever ski descents of Broad Peak (2015), Gasherbrum II (2019), and Gasherbrum I (2019) — building an unparalleled record of redefining what is possible in ski mountaineering.

Ski Descents

Mount Everest (2025): First-ever full ski descent without supplementary oxygen from the world’s highest mountain.
Gasherbrum I (2019): First-ever ski descent, without supplementary oxygen.
Gasherbrum II (2019): First-ever ski descent, without supplementary oxygen.
K2 (2018): First and only full ski descent in history from the world’s second-highest mountain, without supplementary oxygen.
Snow Leopard (2016): Climbed five 7,000-metre peaks of the former Soviet Union in 30 days, breaking Denis Urubko’s record by 12 days - without supplementary oxygen..
Broad Peak (2015): First-ever ski descent from this 8,000er, without supplementary oxygen.
Manaslu (2014): First Pole to ski down, without supplementary oxygen; record ascent and descent time (21h 14m).
Shishapangma (2013): First Pole to ski down from the central summit, without supplementary oxygen.
About Andrzej Bargiel

Andrzej Bargiel

Born in 1988 in Łętownia (Małopolska, Poland), Red Bull Athlete Andrzej Bargiel has been connected with the mountains and sport since childhood. He is a decorated ski mountaineer, multiple Polish champion, and a national representative in ski mountaineering. Internationally, he has gained recognition as a pioneer of extreme ski descents from the world’s highest peaks, consistently pushing the boundaries of both mountaineering and skiing.