The epilogue to a dream imagined by two and completed alone after the death of his partner, Hilaree Nelson: Jim Morrison skis the Hornbein Couloir on the north face of Everest — a major achievement in the history of high-altitude mountaineering.
High-altitude skiing specialist Jim Morrison, originally from Walnut Creek and now living in Lake Tahoe, California, has accomplished one of the great Himalayan challenges by descending the Hornbein Couloir. This radical and aesthetic line, etched vertically into the highest peak on our planet, was an obvious choice in the quest for grandiose challenges shared by the adventurous couple, Jim and Hilaree.
Jim Morrison entered the history books as the first person ever to successfully ski down the Hornbein Couloir on the direct north face of Mount Everest. credit: National Geographic/Savannah Cummins
Since meeting in 2015, the couple had completed numerous expeditions together, including the first descent of Papsura in India (6,449 meters) in 2017 and the first descent of Lhotse (8,516 meters) in 2018 — a north face route nicknamed “the dream line.” In 2022, they set their sights on the north face of Manaslu (8,163 meters). After reaching the summit, Jim and Hilaree began their descent when Hilaree triggered a small avalanche on the summit slope and was swept down the south face as Jim looked on helplessly. Two days after the accident, in difficult conditions, Jim and Nepalese pilot Surendra Paudel managed to locate and recover her body.
After this tragic loss, Jim carried on, as he had always done throughout a life marked by grief. The following year, he set off for Everest to continue what they had planned together: the Hornbein Couloir on the north face of the world’s highest peak. But Kafkaesque administrative procedures with the Chinese authorities — the north face lies in Tibet — cost him the weather window and derailed the expedition. In the spring of 2024, Jim set himself another goal, joining skiers Christina Lustenberger and Chantel Astorga to make the first ski descent of the west face of Great Trango (6,286 meters) in Pakistan — an incredible line we covered in a previous article.
Nevertheless, the Hornbein project continued to fascinate Jim, and he made another attempt in the fall of 2024. This time, after skiing from 7,000 meters during acclimatization, an accident and the rescue of one of his teammates, Yukta Gurung, once again brought the expedition to a halt. It was also that year that the film crew — Jimmy Chin, Erich Roepke, and Mark Fisher — discovered a shoe embroidered with the inscription “A.C. Irvine.” It is believed to have belonged to Andrew Comyn Irvine, known as Sandy, who disappeared a hundred years earlier along with George Mallory during their attempt to climb the mountain on June 8, 1924. Thus lifting a corner of the veil of mystery surrounding this expedition.
In 2025, the third attempt was successful. Surrounded by a smaller team — including Yukta Gurung, who had recovered from his accident; Adrian Ballinger, responsible for the climbing; Ecuadorians Esteban “Topo” Mena and Roberto “Tico” Morales, in charge of route preparation; a specially selected team of Sherpas from Phortse; and a film crew led by his friend Jimmy Chin, co-director of the Oscar-winning documentary Free Solo — Jim climbed Everest with oxygen on October 15 via a route combining the Japanese and Hornbein routes, reaching the summit at 12:45 p.m. There, he scattered some of Hilaree’s ashes over the world, then at 2 p.m., he put on his Camox freebird and began the descent. Alone this time facing this giant, except for the presence of Hilaree’s smile.
The North Face of Mount Everest. credit: National Geographic/Savannah Cummins
Jim Morrison, left, and Jimmy Chin. credit: National Geographic/Savannah Cummins
Jim Morrison climbs the north face of Everest. credit: Jimmy Chin
The face, battered by winds the previous week, promised difficult conditions, which Jim later described as “abominable.” He first skied to the narrowest section — too rocky to ski — and was forced to rappel about 200 meters before putting his skis back on. “It was a mix of survival skiing and real riding,” Jim said afterward. “Some sections were smooth enough for real turns. Others were carved out and raised more than a meter, like frozen waves.” When he reached Camp 3, he took a short break before linking together beautiful turns to Camp 2 and finally reaching gentler slopes where he could savor the last few arcs.
(Left to right): Erich Roepke, Jim Morrison, Jimmy Chin and Pemba Sharwa on the summit of Everest. credit: National Geographic/Leo Hoorn
“When I finally crossed the bergschrund, I cried. I had taken so many risks, but I was alive. It was like a tribute to Hilaree, something she would be proud of. I really felt her with me, as if she were encouraging me,” Jim said after his extraordinary descent. The whole team came down safely, bringing to an end this epic journey that began in 2020 when the couple first set their sights on this monument of high-altitude skiing.
For a Chamoniard, the Hornbein is forever linked to Marco Siffredi, who did not return in 2002. After descending the Norton the previous year, he disappeared with his snowboard on the steep Hornbein line. Unlike Jim, Marco had not climbed the couloir and was unable to gauge the difficulties ahead. His expedition, organized with his characteristic enthusiasm and limited resources, made it impossible to climb the Hornbein. As if to pay tribute to our lost friend, Jim Morrison succeeded 23 years later — at the same age Marco was when he disappeared — in climbing and skiing this legendary couloir.
Jim Morrison climbs with a team member behind him. credit: National Geographic/Leo Hoorn
For Americans, the Hornbein Couloir is a symbol. Named after Tom Hornbein, who in 1963, along with Willi Unsoeld, a few days after the first American ascent of the southeast ridge, became the first to climb Everest via the west ridge before descending via the south col. This feat — which involved spending a night at 8,500 meters — made mountaineering history as the first traverse of an 8,000-meter peak.
Jim Morrison climbs Everest. credit: Jimmy Chin
(Left to right): Roberto (Tico) Morales, Esteban (Topo) Mena Yanez, Jimmy Chin and Jim Morrison on the summit. credit: National Geographic/Pemba Sharwa
October 15, 2025, will go down in history as the date of the first ski descent of the steepest and straightest couloir on the world’s highest mountain — the same route Hornbein and Unsoeld climbed in 1963. It’s done, all captured by National Geographic, with Camox Freebird skis on his feet. Well done, Jim. Well done, team.
Finally, let us salute the achievement of Polish climber Andrzej Bargiel, who, just a few days earlier — on September 22, 2025 — became the first person to ski down Everest’s normal route on the southeast ridge without supplemental oxygen.
