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American skier and mountaineer Jim Morrison made history this week by becoming the first person to successfully ski the North Face of Mount Everest using the most challenging and elusive path on the mountain.
Morrison, 50, accomplished the incredible feat Wednesday in four hours and five minutes, descending the 29,032-foot summit with a nearly vertical drop down a 9,000-foot slope toward the Rongbuk Glacier, according to national geography, who accompanied Morrision on the journey towards an upcoming documentary.
Morrison completed his descent in four hours and five minutes. (REUTERS/David Gray)
Its descent using the Hornbein and Japonés corridors was a historic first due to the difficulty of the route. The Hornbein and Japanese corridors are defined by their steep, icy, narrow conditions and high avalanche risk.
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Morrison told the outlet that he dedicated his achievement to fellow famous climber Hilaree Nelson, who tragically died in 2022 after a fall near the summit of Manaslu in Nepal.
Mountain skiers Hilaree Nelson and her partner Jim Morrison pose for a portrait in a meadow near Lake Tahoe in Squaw Valley, California, on October 19, 2015. (Jason Bean/RED USA TODAY)
“I had a little conversation with her and I felt like I could dedicate the whole day to her,” he said.
“When I finally crossed the bergschrund, I cried. I had risked a lot, but I was alive. It felt like a tribute to Hilaree, something she would be proud of. I really felt her with me, cheering me on.”
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According to National Geographic, Morrison had attempted the feat on two other occasions, but permit issues and dangerous weather conditions derailed his attempts. This week, on the last day of his leave, Morrison succeeded.
As for the trip, Morrison told National Geographic that it was “a mix of survival skiing and actual destruction.”
Jim Morrison, partner of American mountain skier Hilaree Nelson, reacts during the funeral pyre before her cremation in Kathmandu on October 2, 2022. A search team recovered the body of top American mountain skier Nelson from the Himalayas on September 28, two days after she disappeared on the slopes of Nepal’s Manaslu Peak. (PRAKASH MATHEMA/AFP via Getty Images)
Morrison’s historic ski slope comes weeks after Polish skier Andrzej Bargiel became the first person to ski down. Mount Everest without the use of supplemental oxygen.
