American skier Jim Morrison makes history with first descent of Everest’s Hornbein Couloir – The Himalayan Times – Nepal’s No.1 English Daily Newspaper

KATHMANDU, OCTOBER 16

American mountaineer Jim Morrison has become the first person in history to ski down the North Face of Mount Everest via the notoriously steep Hornbein Couloir, a descent long considered one of the last great challenges in extreme skiing.

According to the National Geographic, the 50-year-old from Lake Tahoe reached the 8,848.86-meter summit at 12:45 p.m. local time on Wednesday before embarking on a daring four-hour descent that dropped nearly 9,000 vertical feet to the Rongbuk Glacier on the mountain’s northern flank. The feat was documented by Oscar-winning filmmakers Jimmy Chin and Chai Vasarhelyi for an upcoming National Geographic film.

Morrison, accompanied by a team of 11 climbers, dedicated his historic run to his late partner and fellow skier Hilaree Nelson, who died in a fall on Manaslu in 2022. “I had a little conversation with her and felt like I could dedicate the whole day to her,” Morrison told National Geographic.

This was Morrison’s third attempt to ski the Hornbein Couloir after earlier efforts in 2023 and 2024 were thwarted by logistics and an avalanche that injured a teammate. The Couloir, a steep, narrow gully descending directly from Everest’s summit, was first climbed in 1963 by Americans Tom Hornbein and Willi Unsoeld, but had never been skied until now.

Over the past decade, Morrison has established himself as one of the world’s most accomplished high-altitude skiers, known for his descents of Lhotse, Makalu, and other Himalayan giants. His latest success marks not only a personal triumph but also a milestone in the history of mountaineering and extreme skiing.