Pole attempts to climb up and ski down Mount Everest with no oxygen aid

On the morning of September 28, Polish climber Andrzej Bargiel began his attempt to climb Mount Everest. After reaching the world’s highest mountain peak, he wants to ski down it. Everything is to be done without the aid of supplementary oxygen.

The 34-year-old was the first man in history to ski down from the summits of K2 and Broad Peak. Since 2013, he has been consistently pursuing the Hic Sunt Leones project, which aims to ascend and descend the world’s highest peaks.

For Bargiel, this will be his second attempt to attack Mount Everest. In 2019, the skier had to abort the first one due to the threat of a large hanging serac (a multi-tonne block of ice) breaking off.

So far, no one has succeeded in climbing and skiing down the mountain without supplementary oxygen. In 1996, Hans Kammerlander attempted this, but after 300 metres he unclipped his skis and only continued the descent from an altitude of 7700 metres. The entire route was completed four years later by Slovenian Davo Karničar, but with the aid of an oxygen cylinder.

It’s time for a summit attack! 🏔️Today at 4:00 am local time we set off from the base camp to camp 2. Keep your fingers crossed!🤞

🎥Bartek Bargiel@totalizator_sp @GrupaMurapol @redbullpolska @MBPolska @SalomonSports #everestskichallenge #andrzejbargiel #suntleones pic.twitter.com/xg4mvAUNrD

— Andrzej Bargiel (@JedrekBargiel) September 28, 2022

“Keep your fingers crossed. We have… spent a lot of time getting ready for this expedition, so I think everything is working. We feel good, so if we have a bit of luck it will all come together,” Bargiel said in a video posted on social media.