Jim Morrison

Jim Morrison is a prolific and resilient ski mountaineer. The lifelong adventurer has summited and skied some of the most formidable peaks across the planet, from Everest to Lhotse to India’s Papsura Peak. 

Jim’s journey began in the Sierra Nevada mountains, where he and his brother John grew up chasing ski legends down the slopes of Squaw Valley. While he made a name for himself early on as an exceptional athlete, it wasn’t until later that his path truly began to take shape. After a tragic plane crash claimed the lives of his wife and their daughters in 2011, Jim turned to the mountains to heal. What began as an outlet for grief soon became a lifelong pursuit of the world’s most challenging climbs and ski descents.

In 2025, Jim completed the first ski descent of Everest’s Hornbein Couloir, dubbed the “most audacious ski run in history,” which will be the subject of an upcoming documentary project directed & produced by Jimmy Chin. And in 2018, Jim and his partner Hilaree Nelson made history by completing the first-ever ski descent from the summit of Lhotse, the world’s fourth-highest peak. That same year, Jim summited both Cho Oyu and Mount Everest in the Himalayas, skiing a combined 11,000 vertical feet between the two mountains. His accomplishments earned him the title of National Geographic’s 2018 Adventurer of the Year. Four years later, he added another achievement to his list: the first-ever ski descent of Great Trango Tower in Pakistan’s Trango massif. 

But Jim’s story is about more than just records and firsts. After the loss of his partner Hilaree in 2022, Jim once again turned to the peaks, finding solace in the act of conquering the world’s most exposed and dangerous terrains. 

Whether navigating an Ironman triathlon or a descent off Everest, Jim’s quiet determination and ability to persevere through life’s toughest challenges have earned him respect across the outdoor community. He is known for his big heart and big engine, always seeking a way to move forward with kindness and courage. He runs a custom home construction business in Tahoe but remains focused on his true passion: the mountains. 

Through it all, Jim embodies resilience and strength, reminding us all that sometimes, when grief brings you down, the best thing to do is climb up.