Polish ski mountaineer Andrzej Bargiel (38) has added another landmark achievement to his already unprecedented high‑altitude résumé, completing the first continuous ski descent of Nanga Parbat (8,126 m) without supplemental oxygen.
The descent, executed in late June 2026, closes his decade‑long Pakistan Project and establishes a new benchmark in Himalayan ski mountaineering: an unbroken line from summit to the final patches of skiable snow on one of the world’s most notorious 8,000‑metre peaks.
Nanga Parbat’s reputation is carved from both tragedy and legend. Known as the “Killer Mountain,” it holds one of the highest fatality rates among the 14 “eight‑thousanders” and remains inseparable from Reinhold Messner’s 1970 ascent of the Rupal Face. Ski attempts have been made over the years, but none had succeeded in linking the summit to the snowline in a single, oxygen‑free push. The upper Diamir Face, Bargiel’s chosen line, is guarded by a large serac barrier that has historically forced climbers to abandon skis and continue on foot, a key obstacle that had prevented previous full descents.
Bargiel began acclimatisation and high‑camp rotations in the second half of June, gradually adapting to altitudes above 8,000 metres while studying weather windows and snow stability.
“I knew that the success of this project would depend on the right timing and the right conditions in the mountains,” he said afterwards, crediting his team and Red Bull for their support.
He left Base Camp (4,200 m) at 06:00 on 28 June, climbing without bottled oxygen and overnighting at Camp II (6,200 m) and Camp III (6,850 m). On 30 June he reached the summit, spent 45 minutes there, then stepped into his skis and committed to the descent. His route followed the Messner line, threading a traverse past the serac barrier that had previously ended ski attempts. Bargiel spent roughly two hours above 7,900–8,000 metres — deep within the death zone — before continuing down to below Camp I (4,400 m), where the final skiable snow ended. In total, he descended around 4,000 vertical metres, completing the first fully continuous ski line ever recorded on Nanga Parbat.
Team member Janusz Gołąb described the descent as “one of the most complex ski projects” he had witnessed, emphasising the constant real‑time decision‑making required on such steep, exposed terrain.
With Nanga Parbat, Bargiel becomes the first person to climb and ski Broad Peak, K2, Gasherbrum I, Gasherbrum II, Everest (video below) and Nanga Parbat all without supplemental oxygen cementing his status as one of the most accomplished ski mountaineers of the modern era.