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Tuesday

Feb 18, 2025

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12:00:00

Polish Goral First To Ski Down
World’s Second Highest Mountain

Polish Góral first to ski down world’s second-highest mountain – K2
Andrzej Bargiel, 30, has become the first person to ski down the world’s second-highest mountain. With skis in hand, the Polish highlander from Zakopane climbed the 8,611-meter (28,251-foot) peak and skied back down to base camp intact. Last year, he had attempted the same daredevil feat but had to abandon the bid due to bad weather. K2 is part of the Karakorum Mountains which straddle the Chinese-Pakistani border. Footage of the descent made the TV news worldwide since Bargiel’s brother was operating a camera-bearing drone which filmed the event. Three years ago, Bargiel became the first skier in the world to descend from the nearby 8,015-meter Broad Peak. He has now skied from the summits of five of the 14 highest mountains Poland’s Wanda Rutkiewicz, the first woman ever to climb Mount Everest, in 1986 became the first European female to climb K2. She died in 1992 after disappearing into an icy Himalayan crevice, never the be seen again.

By Robert Strybel