WATCH: Jim Morrision’s Historic Everest Descent Just Dropped on Nat Geo

Earlier this month, American ski mountaineer Jim Morrison made history with the first ski descent of Mount Everest’s North Face. He completed the run through the notorious Hornbein Couloir, one of the most audacious ski challenges ever attempted. The mission was deeply personal, honoring his late partner, the legendary Hilaree Nelson. Now, National Geographic has shared the first glimpse of this incredible feat.

The Hornbein Couloir has long been one of the most feared and prestigious unclaimed ski descents. It’s a steep, narrow gully cutting down the North Face of the world’s tallest peak. The line is so challenging that Morrison’s team made only the sixth successful climb since 1963—and the first in over thirty years.

Morrison summited Everest on October 15 and began his 12,000-vertical-foot descent to the Central Rongbuk Glacier. He completed the full run in just over four hours. At the summit, he scattered Hilaree Nelson’s ashes—a powerful moment that defined the expedition.

Despite the brutal conditions, Morrison found moments to “shred,” showcasing his unmatched skill in ski alpinism. The run continued a shared dream with Nelson, with whom he completed the first ski descent of Lhotse in 2018.

The entire harrowing climb and descent was captured by an elite film crew, including Oscar-winning directors and mountaineers Jimmy Chin and Chai Vasarhelyi. Chin himself has skied from Everest's summit before, and he was on the mountain documenting this historic moment. Their upcoming National Geographic Documentary Film, promises to be an epic and cinematic chronicle of the world's most coveted ski mountaineering line.

This is more than a story of a physical feat; it's a raw, emotional look at a skier pushing the limits of the possible while honoring a lasting legacy in the mountains.