Jim Morrison

Jim Morrison is an American ski mountaineer who, in October 2025, became the first person to ski the Hornbein-Japanese Couloir on the North Face of Mount Everest — a 9,000-foot line beginning above 29,000 feet. The route had eluded attempts for decades, with previous efforts ending in tragedy.
The descent required three years of expeditions and a dedicated team to succeed. In 2018, Morrison and Hilaree Nelson completed the first ski descent from the summit of Lhotse, the world’s fourth-highest mountain. Together, they pursued some of the most technical high-altitude ski objectives across the Himalaya, Karakoram, Alaska and the Alps.

After losing Nelson in 2022 on Manaslu, Morrison returned to Everest’s North Face to complete a vision they once shared — a descent that became both an athletic milestone and a personal reckoning.

An athlete for The North Face, Morrison’s story is one of resilience, teamwork and the patience required to achieve objectives that demand years of preparation.