Andrzej Bargiel: The game with death

Who would be exposed as an unsuspecting, inexperienced tourist in the Karakorum mountains, felt as if he was on Mars. Alien to life, unreal, threatening and not of this world. This huge, never-ending mountain world in the north of Pakistan, India and the west of China, which consists only of high mountains and peaks, is a world of its own, far away from any Western civilization. The Karakoram mountains cover an impressive 77,000 km2, which is about twice the area of Switzerland. In comparison with the Dolomites with 15'942 km2 the area seems large, but this is put into perspective again in view of the area of the Alps with 298'128 km2 and the Himalayas with 595'000 km2. The area is home to four eight-thousanders and 63 seven-thousanders. In comparison, the Alps seem like a child's paradise. Whoever finds himself here must be able to survive, here one has no other choice. This is not Disneyland, but a kind of mountain hell for maniacs who like to play with their lives. And with the "experiments" that the extreme ski mountaineer Andrzej Bargiel does with his life, one sometimes has the feeling that this is a game with death. And this dangerous game seems to please and impress many in this world.

The K2 world record
2018 wagte der polnische Extremskibergsteiger Andrzej Bargiel das Abenteuer, den K2, den zweithöchsten Berg der Welt, ohne Sauerstoff mit seinen Skiern zu bezwingen und schrieb damit Geschichte. Ausgehend von einem Basislager auf 5’000 m…