Show Notes
In today’s special episode we meet Andrzej Bargiel, the first person to ski Everest without oxygen. In September 2025, Andrzej went viral, after Red Bull released footage of him summitting and then skiing down Everest – the world’s highest peak – without any extra oxygen. To put his achievement into context, around 7500 people have summited Everest, but fewer than 200 have managed to do it without supplementary oxygen – and absolutely none of them have skied back down as well. We discuss Andrzej’s journey from a tough childhood in Poland, via first skimo racing, and then high mountain adventures, to how he became the only person to ski K2 from the summit and then the only person to summit and ski Everest without supplementary oxygen. Andrzej spoke in his natives language of Polish, so in this conversation, you’ll hear his words translated by an actor. SHOW NOTES
Watch the full 30-minute version of Andrzej’s historic descent (0:30) If you are really pushed for time, you could watch the one minute version Andrzej is the ninth of 11 children (2:45) Swapping table tennis bats for skis (2:45) Getting into ski touring (4:15) The ‘Hic Sunt Leones’ (‘Here are lions’) project (6:00) Learning to function with little oxygen (7:30) Attitudes to risk (8:30) Previous attempts on Everest in 2019 and 2021 Why September? (11:00) Reaching the summit (14:00) Negotiating the Khumbu icefall (16:45) Equipment for Everest (18:30) Everest, K2 and Nanga Parbat - which was the hardest to climb and the hardest to ski? (19:45) FEEDBACK You can leave a comment on Spotify, Instagram or Facebook – or you can drop me an email to [email protected]. We’re also on WhatsApp, where I release exclusive material ahead of each episode there. Look in the Show Notes for those links. Matt Hayes: “Thank you for the content over the summer, some truly inspiring interviews. Also, for the free ticket for the snow show. We got so much out of it last year and booked our hotel as soon as the dates came out, so the free ticket certainly helps.” Colin Tierney: “Episode 323 was very interesting: disabled skiers impress me so much.”
Jake Roskoe: “I really enjoyed Episode 235, when you spoke with Nancy Shiel from Big Sky Resort in Montana” There are now 325 episodes of The Ski Podcast to catch up with. Just go to theskipodcast.com, have a search around the tags and categories and you’re bound to find something of interest to listen to. If you enjoyed this episode of The Ski Podcast (which took around 10 hours to produce!), you are welcome to buy me a coffee too at buymeacoffee.com/theskipodcast
More from The Ski Podcast
A London Snow Show special, recorded on location at the 50th London Snow Show, at Kensington Olympia. Host Iain Martin speaks with GB Snowsport athletes including gold medal winner Charlotte Bankes, snowboarder Mia Brookes and Alpine racers Molly Butler and Zak Carrick Smith. He’s also joined by the newly retired Dave Ryding and Chemmy Alcott, Ed Leigh and Graham Bell to discuss the axing of ‘Ski Sunday’. We also hear the latest news from Carv, Protect Our Winters and Snowcamp, as well as plenty of other exhibitors from the show, including some regular contributors to the podcast. ------------ Les 2 Alpes sponsors The Ski Podcast, which means this winter we will be finding out more about the resort’s long seven-month ski season, the great activities on offer there in summer, and some of the people who live and work there and make Les 2 Alpes such a fantastic destination. ------------ SHOW NOTES
We find out about the new Jandri 3S lift in Les 2 Alpes, why it's so important, why Telemixte lifts are the future and how the resort decides which lifts to upgrade, plus we look at the new book ‘Ski & Art’, featuring artists from around the world whose creative focus is on skiing. We also have news of an exclusive interview with the first ever man to ski down the North Face of Everest. Host Iain Martin was joined by freelance journalist Katie Bamber and Jean-Charles Thomas, Director of SATA – the lift company in Les 2 Alpes. ------------ Les 2 Alpes sponsors The Ski Podcast, which means this winter we will be finding out more about the resort’s long seven-month ski season, the great activities on offer there in summer, and some of the people who live and work there and make Les 2 Alpes such a fantastic destination. ------------ SHOW NOTES Katie has been on the show discussing vanlife in the Alps, the Haute Route and Geilo in Norway (2:00) LISTEX is the London International Snowsports Trade (4:00) Listen to Lou Pode, Ski Mindset Coach in Episode 310 (4:45) The London Snow Show is at Kensington Olympia on 17 and 18 October (5:00) Listen to organiser James Gambrill talking about it in Episode 330 (5:00) Secure a free ticket to the Show here (5:15) Iain and Al will be on the equipment stage at 11am on Saturday (5:15) Subscribe to The Ski Podcast to ensure you hear Iain’s interview with Oscar-winning documentary maker Jimmy Chin and freeskier Jim Morrison (6:00) Les 2 Alpes offers a 7-month ski season that LDA offers from lateNov to early Jul (7:30) Why Les 2 Alpes glacier does not open for skiing in mid-summer (11:00) Why the Jandri 3S upgrade was so important to Les 2 Alpes (12:45) Is the new lift a hedge against climate change (16:15) Some of the newer lifts are ‘Telemixte’ lifts (17:30) Which lifts are replaced or upgraded first? (19:30) The Champamé ski lift was partially rebuilt using components from Les Orres (20:45) Jean-Charles served in the army for over 10 years (23:00) Katie’s new book is called ‘Ski & Art’ (26:30) Deciding on which artists to include How long did the process take? (28:00) Deciding which of their work to include (29:00) Buy ‘Ski & Art’ online ((34:00) Feedback I love getting feedback from listeners. You can let us know what you thought by leaving a comment on Spotify, Instagram or Facebook – or you can drop me an email to [email protected]. We’re also on WhatsApp. Louise Cotter: “What an episode 330 was! So much great content, the LifePass is a revolution - it is going to remove so much stress from a ski holiday for everyone.”
We hear from Kirsty Muir in an exclusive interview, Chemmy Alcott introduces us to LifePass and we find out how to become a snowboard judge. We also have updates from the Northern and London Snow Shows and some big news about our podcasts in November. Host Iain Martin was joined in the studio by Chemmy Alcott, Pete McFetridge, founder and CEO of LifePass and FIS-qualified snowboard judge Sophie Smith. ------------ Les 2 Alpes sponsors The Ski Podcast, which means this winter we will be finding out more about the resort’s long seven-month ski season, the great activities on offer there in summer, and some of the people who live and work there and make Les 2 Alpes such a fantastic destination. ------------ SHOW NOTES
We review the Best Ski Boots for the 2027 winter season, covering the alpine ski boots and best freeride and touring hybrid ski boots. Host Iain Martin was joined by The Ski Podcast’s equipment expert Al Morgan and Frazer Shand from Profeet in London. Les 2 Alpes sponsors The Ski Podcast – this winter we will be finding out more about the resort’s long seven-month ski season, the great activities on offer there in summer, and some of the people who live and work there and make Les 2 Alpes such a fantastic destination. This special equipment episode has been made possible by the Profeet Ski Boot Lab. Go to www.theskipodcast.com or our YouTube channel to see graphics of all these ski boots SHOW NOTES
We find out about a new overnight train service to Switzerland and Italy, as well as a new campaign to promote the repair of snowsports clothing, rather than replacement. We also hear about a new initiative to bring newcomers into the sport, plus we have the latest updates from Australia and NZ and news of award recognition for The Ski Podcast. Host Iain Martin was joined in the studio by Heather Davies from the Re-Action Collective and Mark Smith (‘The Man in Seat 61’), the UK’s leading train travel expert. ------------ Les 2 Alpes sponsors The Ski Podcast, which means this winter we will be finding out more about the resort’s long seven-month ski season, the great activities on offer there in summer, and some of the people who live and work there and make Les 2 Alpes such a fantastic destination. ------------ SHOW NOTES