Andrzej Bargiel has done it again. Photo: Red Bull
A climber known for pushing the limits of mountaineering has managed to ski down one of the world’s deadliest peaks. Just a year after completing the first full ski descent of Mt. Everest, 38-year-old Polish ski mountaineer Andrzej Bargiel climbed Nanga Parbat without supplemental oxygen.
Located in the Pakistani-administered sector of the Kashmir region, Nanga Parbat is the westernmost major peak of the Himalayas and the world’s ninth-highest mountain. With a summit reaching 26,660 feet, it is one of only 14 peaks known as eight-thousanders, meaning they rise over 8,000 meters above sea level. On top of that, Nanga Parbat is renowned as a particularly dangerous climb, even earning the unofficial nickname “Killer Mountain.”
Bargiel is not the first to scale the mountain, but nobody else has ever managed to stay on their skis from the summit all the way to the end of the mountain’s snow. Other attempts had been stymied by the Diamir Face, where a serac barrier forced skiers to carry their equipment on foot – but somehow Bargiel managed to find a way.
“I knew that the success of this project would depend on the right timing and the right conditions in the mountains. I’m happy that we were able to find a line that made it possible to complete the entire descent safely. I’d like to thank the whole team and Red Bull for their support,” Bargiel said in a Red Bull news release.
Bargiel completed the ascent alongside fellow alpinist Janusz Gołąb, who added, “It was one of the most complex ski projects I’ve ever seen in the high mountains. Andrzej had to constantly assess and solve the terrain in real time throughout the descent. On Nanga Parbat, there is no room for chance.”
Last year, Bargiel made history by becoming the first person to climb Mount Everest without oxygen and then ski down. The expedition, dubbed the Everest Ski Challenge 2025, took him four days, four hours, and 15 minutes to go from Base Camp to the top of the highest peak in the world, and back down to Base Camp.
