Jim Morrison completes first ski descent of Everest Hornbein Couloir

On 15 October 2025 American ski mountaineer Jim Morrison became the first person to ski the North Face of Mount Everest via its most challenging and elusive line, a linkup of the Hornbein and Japanese Couloirs. Morrison reached Everest’s summit via the same route at 12:45 p.m. local time , after six and a half weeks on the mountain and a grueling summit push. He summited after what has been described as a grueling summit push with 11 other climbers, namely Jimmy Chin, Erich Roepke, Pemba Sharwa Sherpa, Esteban Mena, Carla Perez, Roberto ‘Tico’ Morales, Pur Bahadur ‘Yukta’ Gurung, Ngima Tenjing Sherpa, Pemba Gelje Sherpa, Tenging Gyaljen Sherpa and Pasang Sona Sherpa.

Embarking from China’s north base camp, the expedition followed the central Rongbuk Glacier to the base of Everest’s imposing north face, then climbed the direct 2743m wall into the upper reaches of the mountain, where the Hornbein Couloir cuts through its steep northern aspect, topping out at 8,848 meters. One of the most formidable faces in the world, the Hornbein Couloir has been climbed only a handful of times since legendary American mountaineers Thomas Hornbein and Willi Unsoeld first ascended it in 1963; the last successful climb was made in 1991.

After the ritual summit photos, Morrison spread the ashes of his late partner Hilaree Nelson, who perished almost exactly in a fall from near the summit Manaslu almost three years ago. Whole the rest of the crew began the long descent along the fixed lines, Morrison embarked on his historic run down the straightest, steepest and most direct line off the highest mountain in the world. According to the expedition sponsor National Geographic, Morrison spent four hours and five minutes carefully hop turning and carving the icy 50-degree slope; the crux was where the couloir narrowed and the rock was bare, forcing Morrison to take off his skis and rappel about 650 feet. He then put his skis back on and continued down to Camp One at 6088 meters, which he reached at 7:45pm after having skied 2,760 meters. At the time of writing it is unclear whether he or the team used supplementary oxygen for the ascent or descent. Commenting his feat, the 50-year-old stated "When I finally crossed the bergschrund, I cried. 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."

One of the first to congratulate Morrison was Poland's Andrzej Bargiel, who made the first ski descent of the regular Southeast Ridge Route without supplemental oxygen just a few weeks ago. The 37-year-old ski-mountaineer stated on his Instagram handle "Huge congratulations to Jim Morrison for an incredible ski descent of Everest through the Hornbein Couloir. As someone who’s skied down both K2 and Everest, I know how massive a challenge that is — technically, physically, and mentally. What Jim and his team pulled off is truly next-level. It was something I had dreamed about myself — and maybe that’s why I’m even happier it was him who did it. Looking back now, it’s hard to imagine anyone more right for this line. Jim and Hilaree’s story has always had something powerful in it — a shared dream, passion, and courage. This descent feels like the closing chapter of that story. I believe for Jim it carried a meaning far deeper than just skiing. We stayed in touch during our climbs, and it’s a pity we didn’t meet on the summit. It would’ve been something special — two ski teams, two routes, meeting on the top of the world. Massive respect."

Skiing the North Face of Everest has been a dream for many, and the first to ski the austere face from the summit was Marco Siffredi, who descended via the uninterrupted Norton Couloir in autumn 2001. The French snowboarder returned to the mountain precisely a year later with his eyes on the biggest prize of all, the Hornbein Couloir. After summiting with a team of Sherpas via the North Col Route, he dropped in to the Hornbein Couloir, but was unfortunately never seen again.