Skiing history has just been made once again by 38–old Polish ski mountaineer Andrzej Bargiel who has just become the first person to climb up and ski down Nanga Parbat (8,126m) without supplementary oxygen.
While previous skiers had navigated sections of the mountain, none had managed a continuous descent from the summit to the snowline. Bargiel overcame the upper Diamir Face’s towering serac barrier (which had forced all prior attempts onto foot) by finding an uninterrupted line through the ice.
Alongside fellow alpinist Janusz Gołąb, who provided critical ascent support, Bargiel launched his summit push from base camp (4,200m). Climbing without supplemental oxygen, he reached the summit, spent 45 minutes at the top, and completed the descent in approximately two hours, navigating the high-altitude “Death Zone” above 7,900 meters.
Located in Pakistan’s western Himalayas, Nanga Parbat is famously demanding. It first entered modern mountaineering lore in 1970 when Reinhold Messner completed his legendary ascent of the Rupal Face.
This achievement concludes a multi-year project to climb and ski all five of Pakistan’s 8,000-meter peaks (K2, Broad Peak, Gasherbrum I, Gasherbrum II, and Nanga Parbat) without supplemental oxygen.
