The original version of this article appeared on Explorersweb.
Bartek Ziemski of Poland summited Everest on May 19 without bottled oxygen or Sherpa support. Then, despite the crowds, the ropes, the wind, and the tracks, he skied nonstop all the way back to Base Camp — all just 7 days after achieving the same feat on Mount Lhotse.
While not strictly an alpine-style ascent, the 31-year-old Polish climber and skier’s ascent was historic in its self-sufficiency. He carried up and retrieved (on the way down) all of his own gear, tent, and supplies, and didn’t rely on anyone accompanying him at any point. The unsupported ascent and ski descent were also done without any supplemental oxygen.
According to Ziemski, who Explorersweb later interviewed, he started skiing from the summit at 9:30 a.m. and didn’t reach Base Camp until 2:50 p.m. — making a nearly 5.5-hour descent.
Several Firsts in One Week
Ziemski’s accomplishment this week marks several historic firsts. This is the first time Lhotse and Everest have been skied by the same person in a single season. Ziemski’s Everest descent is also the first unsupported complete descent of Everest made without supplemental oxygen — a mere week after doing the first ascent of the season on Lhotse (also without oxygen).
Last but not least, Ziemski’s ski descent of Lhotse was the first fully complete descent, from summit to Base Camp across the Khumbu Icefall, and the first without oxygen.
Nine 8,000ers Skied
Everest is the ninth “8,000er” (a peak over 8,000 m) Ziemski has climbed and skied down without oxygen in just 5 years. He has done:
- 2022: Broad Peak and Gasherbrum II
- 2023: Annapurna and Dhaulagiri (he then went up again to rescue an injured Carlos Soria from above Camp 3)
- 2024: Kangchenjunga (first complete ski descent), Makalu, and Manaslu
- 2026: Mount Everest and Mount Lhotse
There remains for Ziemski the two Tibetan 8,000ers, Shisha Pangma and Cho Oyu. They are historically considered the easiest to ski down. Then, there are the three Pakistani giants: Gasherbrum I, Nanga Parbat, and K2, the second-highest peak on Earth at 8,611 m, which has been skied only once, by fellow Pole Andrzej Bargiel.
Why It’s Historic
Everest was climbed without oxygen and skied down completely once before, in the fall of 2025, by Andrzej Bargiel. Both descents are historic in different ways.
Bargiel’s attempt was sponsored by Red Bull. He had a large team helping fix the route. They set up the camps, broke trail, filmed the climb and descent, and supported him at all times. Otherwise, there was no one else on the mountain.
During Bargiel’s attempt, Everest also had a thick blanket of snow post-monsoon. That facilitated skiing the summit ridge and crossing the Khumbu Icefall. In that last section, Bargiel counted on the guidance of his brother’s drone. It was, nevertheless, an amazing feat.
By contrast, Ziemski had no support except for the fixed ropes and packed trail. He carried all of his own equipment — tent, gear, skis, food — up and down the mountain, without drones or a support team. He even had to ask a nearby climber to take a photo of him on top of Everest.
At the same time, he had to contend with heavy traffic on the route, plus ropes and tracks in narrow passages that should be hard to ski. Last but not least, by luck or by boldness, Ziemski has skied Everest (and as far as we know, most of the 8,000ers he has skied) on his first attempt.
Overall, the Polish climber and skier has proven that there is room for unique adventure even on a crowded Everest. It’s just extremely hard.
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