Doo Sar: A Karakoram Ski Expedition

In a world where it seems like everything has been said, everything has been done, is there still room for exploration? Where should one go and what should one do to meet the unknown? This is what the Red Bull documentary “Doo Sar” touring Italy with BANFF asks to begin with. The viewer in brought on an expedition with Andrzej Bargiel and Jedrek Baranowski among the remote Karakoram mountains. Supporting and documenting Andrzej and Jedrek’s ambitious projects is a close-knit team consisting of film maker and drone pilot Jakub Gzela, Darek Zaluski, and photographer Bartlomiej Pawlikowski.

The group arrives in Pakistan in spring and the impact with the post-pandemic reality is immediately very strong. From the isolation dictated by health needs, the contrast with the South Asian way of life is disorienting. It’s nice to finally see people not wearing masks, to recognize faces, to bump into smiles. Preparations began for the first goal: to ski the still-unskied Yawash Sar II Peak, a 6,000-meter peak in the Ghidims-Dur Valley. The locals don’t understand that they are there to ski for sport. It seems so strange to them, to put so much effort in without a “reason.” But the reason, as we know, is always the same: to come face to face with one’ s limitations, with one’s fears, to know oneself, to grow.

The approach to the mountain lasts several days, during which the Polish team establishes a beautiful relationship with the porters, who, although tired, take advantage of any quiet moment to learn how to ski. It is no coincidence that Yawash Sar II has not yet been climbed; it costs a lot of effort to get there. In a hard time for the whole team, nature itself provides a boost, a motivation: snow leopard footprints appear, leading them forward, in every sense of the word. But let’s cut to the chase: the mountain of dreams comes into view and the dancing finally begins.

Andrej and Jedrek start to climb it, but after a while the Jedrek, who has no experience at those altitudes, has to give up. The two stay in touch by radio, and Andrej, who made the first descent of K2 on skis in 2019, continues his climb to the summit. Andrzej Bargiel is thus the first to climb and ski Yawash Sar II, with only a few rappels from the summit due to ice encountered at the summit. The two friends rejoin halfway up the wall and ski together to the base of the mountain. We celebrate the success of the expedition, which is a team success including porters, with a soccer match: Pakistan vs. Poland. The result? We are not given to know.

The second goal of the trip is Laila Peak, another 6,000 this time already skied but no less amazing located in the Hushe Valley. If Yawash Sar II represented knowing how to stop, recognize one’s limits and let fly those who can, Laila Peak and its ascent represents loyalty to the roped party, waiting, and succeeding together. In fact, even this time Jedrek goes down because of the altitude, but Andrzej stops to wait and motivate him. They reach the summit together. Due to the conditions they are forced to leave their skis 150 meters from the summit but once they recover, they enjoy a beautiful skiing on spring snow, very different from that encountered on Yawash Sar II. The perfect way to end an expedition, a life experience, that not only leaves its mark but enters the history of mountaineering. Because, deep down, and perhaps not even that deep down, it doesn’t matter if a peak has already been climbed, or a valley explored: we meet the unknown within ourselves. It’s just that sometimes we have to go very far from home, to remote places, to find it out.

In recent months, BANFF is touring Italy city by city. If you missed it on Ithaca On Demand you can find the collection of all the films.