Andrzej Bargiel, the Polish ski mountaineer who made history in 2018 by becoming the first person to ski off the summit of K2, just announced plans to ski Everest without oxygen. The world’s highest peak has been skied several times before, but never continuously or without supplemental oxygen. In an interview with Red Bull, he announced his intentions to climb and ski the peak this fall.
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While most climbers attempt Everest in the spring, when the weather is drier, fall is the preferred time to ski big peaks like this, as conditions tend to be snowier and thus more conducive to skiing. Secondly, Bargiel states it will be safer as there will not be crowds on the mountain like seen earlier this year, saying “[In fall], there are not many people there and it is fun. Now we associate Everest with queues, there are lots of people who are trying to reach this peak. Crowds are a big threat, because I could throw an avalanche on people. Besides, I'm looking for peace in the mountains.”
