A Polish daredevil has become the first person to ski from the summit of the world’s most dangerous mountain.
Andrzej Bargiel, 30, descended 28,000-foot down K2 from the peak in Pakistan yesterday after a gruelling climb to the top.
His brother Bartek filmed the descent using the professional MavicPro drone which is the first in the world capable of filming at a height of 8,000 metres.
The thrill-seeker has a long history of daring climbs and descents. In 2015, he was awarded the Polish Golden Cross of Merit for developing and promoting Polish skiers abroad and National Geographic Poland named him ‘Man of the year’ in the wake of record-breaking attempts he had made skiing down peaks including Shishapangma, Manaslu and Broad Peak.
His first attempt to ski down K2 was made in 2017 but he had to call it off because of heavy snow and severe storm weather conditions.
K2 has long been one of the most challenging peaks in the world to tackle, and climbers say it has the most fatalities because of its notoriously difficult approaches.
Around one in four people dying in attempting to reach the summit, and no one has skiied down it before.
It is the second highest mountain in the world after Mount Everest.
Before his attempt on Saturday night he said: ‘I was not successful in completing my challenge on the first attempt, however, it was possible to identify at least three different routes down the mountain which can be skied in one go and I will finalise which one I choose when I see the current conditions.’
After the event he told CNN: ‘I have managed to ride down from the summit of K2, directly to the base camp. 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’.
Andrzej Bargiel, 30, descended 28,000-foot down K2 from the peak in Pakistan yesterday after a gruelling climb to the top
His first attempt to ski down K2 was made in 2017 but he had to call it off because of heavy snow and severe storm weather conditions
His first attempt to ski down K2 was made in 2017 but he had to call it off because of heavy snow and severe storm weather conditions