Ski Down from the top of Mount Everest!

 Andrzej Bargiel, became the first person to ski down from the summit of Mount Everest to base camp without supplemental oxygen. Andrzej Bargiel is a Polish ski mountaineer, born on April 18, 1988, in Łętownia, Poland. Renowned for his high-altitude skiing feats, he gained global recognition as the first person to ski down Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen on September 22, 2025. He reached the summit after a 16-hour climb in the "death zone" above 8,000 meters, where oxygen levels are critically low, then immediately began his descent on skis via the South Col route. Due to nightfall and heavy snow, he stopped at Camp II (around 6,400 meters) and continued the next morning through the Khumbu Icefall, guided partly by a drone flown by his brother Bartek, arriving safely at base camp.

This marked his third attempt at the feat and built on his earlier achievements, such as being the first to ski down K2 without oxygen in 2018. Previous ski descents from Everest, like Slovenian Davorin Karničar's in 2000, relied on bottled oxygen. While over 7,000 people have summited Everest, fewer than 200 have done so without oxygen, and none had skied down until Bargiel.

His notable achievements include:

• First ski descent of K2 (8,611 meters) without oxygen in 2018, a world record.
• First ski descent of Broad Peak (8,051 meters) in 2015.
• Record-breaking ascent and ski descent of Manaslu (8,163 meters) in 2014.
• Multiple ski descents in the Himalayas, including Yawash Sar II and Laila Peak.

Below are notable attempts and successes by others, with details on their use of oxygen or specific challenges:

• Davorin Karničar (Slovenia): In 2000, Karničar became the first person to complete a full ski descent from Everest’s summit to base camp. He skied the South Col route but used supplemental oxygen during his climb and descent, unlike Bargiel. His descent took about five hours and was a significant milestone in ski mountaineering.
• Yuichiro Miura (Japan): In 1970, Miura, a Japanese skier and adventurer, attempted a ski descent from the South Col (around 8,000 meters) as part of the "Everest Skiing Project." Using a parachute to control speed, he skied roughly 2,000 meters down the Lhotse Face but crashed and slid, stopping short of a crevasse. He used oxygen and did not start from the summit, so it wasn’t a complete descent.
• Hans Kammerlander (Italy): In 1996, Kammerlander, an experienced mountaineer, skied from approximately 8,600 meters (just below Everest’s summit) down the North Face. He used supplemental oxygen and did not complete the descent to base camp, stopping at advanced base camp due to conditions.
• Jimmy Chin, Kit DesLauriers, and Rob DesLauriers (USA): In 2006, this American trio skied from Everest’s summit down the South Col route. Kit DesLauriers became the first woman to ski from the summit. All three used supplemental oxygen during their climb and descent, and their effort was documented in the film The Ski Project. Their descent was successful but relied on oxygen support.
• Andrzej Bargiel’s earlier attempts: Bargiel himself tried skiing Everest without oxygen twice before his 2025 success. His first attempt in 2019 was aborted due to dangerous snow conditions and avalanche risks. A second attempt in a prior year (exact date unclear) was also abandoned due to poor weather and route conditions. These failures highlight the extreme difficulty of the feat, even for an elite skier like Bargiel.