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Jim Morrison Completes First Ski Descent of Everest’s Hornbein and Japanese Couloirs

National Geographic is producing a feature film led by Jimmy Chin and Chai Vasarhelyi that documents the October 15 descent.

Overview

  • Morrison skied roughly 9,000 vertical feet from Everest’s summit in about four hours via the North Face’s Hornbein and Japanese Couloirs.
  • He described encountering “a horrific snow pack” in the death zone, as filmmaker Jimmy Chin likened the commitment to “the skiing equivalent to free soloing.”
  • While his teammates descended on ropes, Morrison skied the line solo, occasionally using fixed ropes where rock interrupted the route.
  • The rarely climbed North Face line had seen only a handful of successful ascents since 1991 and had never been skied before this attempt.
  • The push followed earlier tries, including a 2024 effort halted by a teammate’s broken femur, and Morrison honored Hilaree Nelson by spreading her ashes on the summit.