Bartek Ziemski is originally from Bielsko-Biała, Poland. Skiing has been part of his life since the age of three. After years of training and competing in alpine skiing, he discovered climbing and gradually turned to ski mountaineering, developing his skills in the Tatra Mountains, on international expeditions, and during the years he spent living in Austria. Ziemski is a member of the Polish Mountaineering Association (PZA) and the KW SAKWA mountaineering club, and has participated in the Polish Sport Himalaism programme. His Alpine achievements include the Peuterey Integrale, one of the longest and most demanding ridgeline traverses in the Alps. He lived in Salzburg for seven years, regularly training and skiing in the Alps. He took part in Polish Sport Himalaism expeditions to Lhotse in 2018 and Laila Peak in 2021. Also in 2021, Ziemski joined an expedition to Peru, where he completed ski descents from several peaks, including Vallunaraju Sur (5,605 m), Artesonraju (6,025 m), and Quitaraju (6,040 m).
Nine Eight-Thousanders on Skis
Bartek’s high-altitude achievements began in 2022, when he climbed his first two eight-thousanders—Broad Peak (8,051 m) and Gasherbrum II (8,035 m) in the Karakoram—and descended them on skis.
By the spring of 2026, Bartek Ziemski had climbed and skied nine of the world’s fourteen eight-thousanders:
2022 – Broad Peak
2022 – Gasherbrum II
2023 – Annapurna
2023 – Dhaulagiri – first ski descent in history
2024 – Makalu – first-ever ski descent from the summit
2024 – Kangchenjunga – first ski descent in history
2025 – Manaslu – first-ever ski descent from the main summit
2026 – Lhotse – first ski descent without supplemental oxygen
2026 – Mount Everest
Bartek has climbed all of his eight-thousanders without supplemental oxygen and entirely self-supported.
MAD Ski Project
Ziemski has undertaken several of his expeditions together with Oswald Rodrigo Pereira—a filmmaker, reporter and high-altitude mountaineer—as part of the MAD Ski Project. The project combines Ziemski’s high-altitude mountaineering and ski descents with Pereira’s work documenting the expeditions.
In 2023, the pair climbed Annapurna and Dhaulagiri without supplemental oxygen, in alpine style, with Bartek completing full ski descents from both summits. The expedition was documented by Pereira in the film Silent Escape.
In 2024, they continued the project on Makalu and Kangchenjunga. On 12 May, they reached the summit of Makalu, from which Bartek descended on skis. On 27 May, the pair summited Kangchenjunga, where Ziemski completed the first ski descent from the summit in history.
Silent Escape
Bartek Ziemski is the central figure in Silent Escape, a documentary directed by Oswald Rodrigo Pereira. The film follows their expedition to Annapurna and Dhaulagiri, exploring both the challenges of the expedition and the relationship between the two partners amid the isolation of the world’s highest mountains.
In 2023, Silent Escape won First Prize for Best Polish Film at the Krakow Mountain Festival (Krakowski Festiwal Górski). The production also has a strong connection with Bulgaria, having received the Award for Outstanding Cinematography in Extreme Conditions at the Bansko Film Fest.
Beyond the High Mountains
When he is not in the mountains, Bartek enjoys windsurfing, paragliding and cycling. Outside the world of sport, he works in the IT sector and is a co-organiser of the Jump Camp ski club in Poland.
