AssetID: 55840430
Headline: Polish athlete becomes first person to climb and ski 'Killer Mountain' Nanga Parbat from top to bottom
Caption: Polish athlete becomes first person to climb and ski 'Killer Mountain' Nanga Parbat from top to bottom. Polish ski mountaineer Andrzej Bargiel has become the first person to climb and ski Nanga Parbat in a single continuous descent without using supplemental oxygen. The 8,126m (26,660ft) mountain in Pakistan is regarded as one of the world's most dangerous peaks, with a long history of fatal climbing accidents. Despite only being the ninth tallest peak in the world it is known as the ‘Killer Mountain’ due to the death toll among those who have attempted the summit. Bargiel completed the ascent and returned by skis from the summit to the end of continuous snow cover as part of his Hic Sunt Leones – Nanga Parbat Ski Challenge 2026 expedition. According to his expedition team, no previous attempt had completed an unbroken ski descent from the summit to the point where snow conditions ended. He skied via the Messner Route, negotiating a traverse beneath a large serac barrier that had prevented previous ski descents from continuing on skis. Bargiel spent around two hours above 7,900m, in the so-called "death zone", where oxygen levels are insufficient to sustain the body for prolonged periods. He completed the ski descent below Camp I on 30 June, marking what organisers say is the first continuous ski line from the summit to the end of skiable snow on Nanga Parbat. The round trip from Base Camp to the summit and back took two days and nine hours.
Keywords: Sports,athlete,first person,climb,Killer Mountain,Nanga Parbat,Polish,ski mountaineer,Andrzej Bargiel,descent,oxygen,mountain,Pakistan,dangerous peaks,climbing,accidents,skis,snow,Hic Sunt Leones,Nanga Parbat Ski Challenge 2026 expedition,serac,barrier
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