iStockphoto / gutliev
Polish skier Andrzej Bargiel made history this past weekend and accomplished something he set out to do well over a year ago. He became the first skier to ride off the K2 summit face on the Pakistan/China border. Getting to this summit is considered to be one of the hardest climbs in the entire world and that’s all before you click into the skis and ride down.
Andrzej Bargiel first attempted this last year but the conditions weren’t right. Warm temperatures led to dangerous snow conditions and he was forced to bail on the attempt and wait another year. This past weekend, he successfully climbed the Pakistan/China border K2 summit and rode down, completing an almost unimaginable feat.
The K2 summit climb started at 4am on Sunday morning and by evening yesterday he’s successfully made it to the top and then skied back down through one of the most technically challenging lines imaginable. It all started days before when he made the climb to acclimate himself. On the day of the climb, he was forced to wait at Base Camp IV for a while before descending due to heavy cloud coverage but the conditions eventually improved and he was able to pull off this record-setting climb + ski:
Here’s some more footage of this crazy feat: