Andrzej Bargiel Completes Unprecedented Ski Descent of Nanga Parbat Without Oxygen

Legendary Polish extreme skier Andrzej Bargiel has made mountaineering history once again, completing a flawless ski descent from the summit of Nanga Parbat to Base Camp entirely without the use of supplemental oxygen.

With this successful descent of the 8,126-meter peak—notoriously dubbed Earth's "Killer Mountain"—the 38-year-old Red Bull athlete becomes the first person in history to ski down all five of Pakistan’s 8,000-meter peaks without bottled oxygen.

Spotted from Base Camp

The historic feat happened so quickly and recently that Bargiel and his immediate team have yet to officially broadcast the news to the public. However, the descent was witnessed firsthand by Nepalese expedition operators stationed at Base Camp.

Officials from Seven Summit Treks, whose rope-fixing team had opened the summit route earlier that morning, watched the Polish skier navigate Nanga Parbat's steep, technically brutal faces and promptly notified Nepalese media.

According to sources on the ground, a rope-fixing team led by Ming Temba Sherpa reached the summit ahead of schedule, clearing the path. Rather than establishing a traditional Camp 4 for rest, the commercial teams and Bargiel pushed forward early. Bargiel, who had shared photos from Camp 2 just a day prior, launched a massive summit push directly from Camp 3 (~7,000m) to conquer the final 1,100 vertical meters without an oxygen mask before clicking into his bindings at the top.

The Strategy: Acclimatization on Ganalo Peak

A complete ski descent of Nanga Parbat has long eluded the world's best extreme skiers due to unskiable, snowless bottlenecks and sheer ice. Legends like Hans Kammerlander in 1990 and French skiers Tiphaine Duperier and Boris Langenstein in previous years were forced to remove their skis or rappel across technical gaps.

To solve the puzzle of finding a continuous, logical line down the Diamir Face, Bargiel spent the previous weekend acclimatizing on Ganalo Peak (6,608m), a subsidiary peak of Nanga Parbat. From that strategic vantage point, he carefully mapped out the snow conditions and studied the safest corridors to ensure a continuous descent.

The Pakistan Grand Slam Complete

Nanga Parbat marks the eighth 8,000-meter peak Bargiel has successfully skied, preserving his strict ethos of using zero supplemental oxygen. It also represents the final piece of his historic puzzle in Pakistan.

His lifetime high-altitude ski résumé now spans the absolute peaks of human endurance:

• Shishapangma (2013)

• Manaslu (2014)

• Broad Peak (2015)

• K2 (2018) — First full ski descent in history

• Gasherbrum II (2023)

• Gasherbrum I (2023)

• Mount Everest (Autumn 2025) — First no-oxygen ski descent from summit to base

• Nanga Parbat (2026)

Further technical details, including footage from the descent and the exact route chosen, are expected to be released shortly by Bargiel and his primary sponsor, Red Bull, as the athlete rests safely at Base Camp.

Andrzej Bargiel has his older brother to thank for introducing him to the world of skiing. Grzesiek was a mountain rescuer and invited Andrzej to work with him at the Polish village of Białka Tatrzańska, where he had an opportunity to see what his brother's working day looked like.

That was the beginning of Andrzej's love for mountains and his passion for ski mountaineering. His brother showed him how to walk on skis and, shortly after, he took part in a ski mountaineering competition, scoring well for a debutant.

Grzesiek was his first coach and had a huge influence on Andrzej. He trained alone in his home town of Łętownia, often at night, starting with small goals – and today he's still setting new ones.