Red Bull athlete Andrzej Bargiel has successfully completed the first continuous, oxygen-free ski descent of Nanga Parbat. He linked the 8,126-meter summit to the snowline on the Diamir Face in Pakistan's Western Himalayas on June 30, 2026, during his Hic Sunt Leones – Nanga Parbat Ski Challenge 2026 expedition.
The 38-year-old Polish skier departed Base Camp at 4,200 meters on June 28, climbed without supplemental oxygen over two days with overnight stops at Camp II and Camp III, and, after reaching the summit, spent 45 minutes preparing for the descent before navigating the treacherous Messner Route. The total round trip from Base Camp to the summit and back to approximately 4,400 meters took two days and nine hours, with Bargiel spending two hours above 7,900 meters within the mountain's death zone, where oxygen levels are critically low and physical performance is severely compromised.