VIDEO: Polish daredevil becomes first to ski down K2 mountain
Andrzej Bargiel, 30, filmed zooming down the 28,000ft deadly peak in Pakistan
A Polish man has become the first person to ski from the summit of K2, the second highest mountain in the world and the most difficult to climb.
One in four people die attempting to summit the 28,251ft (8,611 metre) peak, nicknamed Savage Mountain. However, Andrzej Bargiel, 30, not only completed the gruelling climb to the top without the aid of supplementary oxygen - “a feat unto itself,” notes CNN - but then skied back down.
The daring descent on Sunday, which took seven hours, was filmed by his brother using a drone.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
It was Bargiel’s second attempt to ski down K2, located on the Pakistani-Chinese border, after stormy weather and heavy snow forced him to abandon a bid last year.
Following his successful second try, he told CNN: “It’s a very technical descent, leading down the middle of the face, so I’m very happy it turned out well, because I’m here for the second time, and I’m glad I don’t have to come back.”
The news site reports that “compared to the more than 4,000 people that have summited Everest - the world’s tallest mountain at 8,848 m (29,029 ft) - less than 350 people have stood on K2’s peak since it was first topped out in 1954”.
Bargiel is renowned for his daring climbs and descents. National Geographic Poland named him Man of the Year in 2015, in honour of the “record-breaking attempts he had made skiing down peaks including Shishapangma, Manaslu and Broad Peak”, the Daily Mail reports.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'Make legal immigration a more plausible option'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
LA-to-Las Vegas high-speed rail line breaks ground
Speed Read The railway will be ready as soon as 2028
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Israel's military intelligence chief resigns
Speed Read Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva is the first leader to quit for failing to prevent the Hamas attack in October
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Gaza hospital blast: What the video evidence shows about who's to blame
Speed Read Nobody wants to take responsibility for the deadly explosion in the courtyard of Gaza's al-Ahli Hospital. Roll the tape.
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Giraffe poo seized after woman wanted to use it to make a necklace
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Helicopter sound arouses crocodiles
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Woman sues Disney over 'injurious wedgie'
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Emotional support alligator turned away from baseball stadium
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Europe's oldest shoes found in Spanish caves
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Artworks stolen by Nazis returned to heirs of cabaret performer
It wasn't all bad Good news stories from the past seven days
By The Week Staff Published