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Stunning video shows first-ever ski down Everest’s hardest route
A menacing 50-degree slope and 9,000 feet straight down: that’s the terrain American mountaineer Jim Morrison tackled when he became the first person to ski the most difficult route on Everest, the infamous Hornbein Couloir on the peak’s North Face.
His historic October 15 descent was captured by National Geographic Explorer and photographer Jimmy Chin, who is directing a National Geographic documentary with Chai Vasarhelyi on Morrison’s death-defying achievement.
“For ski mountaineering, the North Face of Everest is the biggest objective,” Morrison told National Geographic after his four hour and five-minute descent, describing the conditions on the slope as “abominable after a week of wind hammering. But I still got in some incredible skiing—really great turns and an ultra-scary, ultra-beautiful descent. It’s the greatest run on planet Earth.
“It’s super steep and unrelenting from top to bottom, and it runs through this tiny, aesthetic couloir. It’s more than a mile long and just massive, dark, and beautiful in scale.”
Before Morrison’s groundbreaking achievement, the Hornbein Couloir was considered one of the last great lines to elude ski mountaineers. Previous attempts to ski or snowboard along the Hornbein Couloir ended tragically, with injuries and fatalities.
“I’m ecstatic. I’m exhausted. I’m just super emotional—really psyched to be down and done with this epic mission and so proud of my team,” Morrison said. “So fired up that we pulled it off.”
Jim Morrison at ABC camp on the North Face of Everest, September 24, 2024. Morrison is a celebrated ski mountaineer known for landmark achievements including the first ski descent of Lhotse (2018), which earned him the title of National Geographic Adventurer of the Year. Savannah Cummins, National Geographic
The weather was “sunny all day with a few clouds down low. Almost no wind,” he added. “A perfect Himalayan day to go to the top of the world.”
Morrison dedicated the day to his late partner, National Geographic Explorer Hilaree Nelson, who died three years ago in a fall from Manaslu, the world’s eighth-highest mountain peak. ““When I finally crossed the bergschrund, I cried,” Morrison told National Geographic. “I’d risked so much, but I was alive. It felt like a tribute to Hilaree—something she’d be proud of. I really felt her with me, cheering me on.”
National Geographic Documentary Films’ “Everest North” (working title), from the Oscar® and BAFTA Award-winning directors of “Free Solo,” Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, is currently in production. The film is produced by Shannon Dill, Janet Yang, Bob Eisenhardt and Anna Barnes.