Jim Morrison

Jim Morrison is an American mountaineer and backcountry skier. He is the first person to descend the Hornbein Couloir on Mount Everest via skis. Morrison, alongside his late partner Hilaree Nelson, became the first individuals to ski down Lhotse via the Lhotse Couloir.

Mountaineering career Morrison is a North Face sponsored athlete.

First ski descent of Papsura One of Morrison's first accomplishments with Hilaree Nelson was a first ski descent of Papsura, a 6,000 m peak in the Himalaya.

Hornbein Couloir ski descent On October 15, 2025, Morrison became the first person to ever ski down the Hornbein Couloir, a gully on the North Face of Mount Everest. The 12,000 ft (3,650 m) descent took him 4 hours and 5 minutes. He followed the "Super Direct" route during his ascent of the mountain, which had only been completed by five other climbers, the last being in 1991. Morrison later recalled that "the conditions were abominable", with some sections being "smooth enough for real turns" and others being "rutted and raised four feet up and down, like frozen waves".

Personal life Morrison is originally from Walnut Creek, California. He left high school early to focus on skiing, eventually completing his diploma by mail from the University of Tennessee. He later dated Hilaree Nelson and was skiing on Manaslu with her when she died in 2022. After his ascent of the Super Direct route in 2025, Morrison spread some of Nelson's ashes on the summit of Mount Everest.