Americans to Ski the Hornbein Couloir on Mt. Everest to Honor Hilaree Nelson

Ski mountaineer Jim Morrison is on Mt. Everest to ski the treacherous Horbein Couloir in remembrance of his fallen wife.

Mt. Everest / Ben Gao

The North Face - Mt. Everest

The second climbing season of the year has begun in the Himalayas. The monsoon season ended the ‘climbing window’ in early June, and now the Jetstream has moved again to provide a second ‘climbing window’, which will last through December. The north side, accessed through Tibet, is open, and teams are currently preparing for their ascents. Mt. Everest's North Face has a rich and colorful history. Attempts on Mt. Everest from the north side began in the 1920's by British teams first led by George Mallory, but to no avail. Most significant was Mallory's 1924 British Expedition with Andrew “Sandy” Irvine.

Mallory and Irvine died on this historic climb, and their actual achievement remains mountaineering's most intriguing mystery. George Mallory’s body was found in 1999 below Mt. Everest's summit. No one knows if Mallory and Irvine died while ascending to the summit, or while descending after successfully summiting Mt. Everest.

Skiing the Hornbien Couloir

Back on the north side this fall, ‘The American Everest Ski Project’ led by Jim Morrison will seek to ski the Hornbein Couloir. Morrison’s team was turned back in 2023 attempting the same feat due to bureaucratic and logistical issues. Morrison wants to ski the couloir as a tribute to his late wife Hilaree Nelson, who died while skiing with Morrison from the summit of Manaslu in 2022 (related Article). Manaslu is the 8th highest peak in the world.

Hillaree Nelson on Lhotse - 2018 / Nick Kalisz

Angela Benevides reported in an article for ExplorersWeb titled Americans Return to Ski Everest’s North Face that the 2023 expedition, supported by The North Face and National Geographic and dubbed by Nepalese media as “the multi-million dollar expedition,” never got off the ground. Chinese authorities refused entry visas into Tibet for Oscar award-winning documentary maker Jimmy Chin and team member Conrad Anker. After much hassle, the attempt was called off.

This year’s expedition is off to a far better start as Morrison and the team are already at Advanced Base Camp on the north side. The group includes several Tibetan climbers and Elite Exped partner Mingma David Sherpa. Chin and fellow cinematographer Mark Fisher will film the ski descent for a documentary. Morrison, like his deceased wife, is a world-class extreme skier, and determined to honor Hilaree on Everest. He will have to use supplemental oxygen on the climb as the China-Tibet Mountaineering Association announced that supplementary oxygen is mandatory on all mountains above 7,000 meters starting from Tibet. Stay tuned for updates on ‘Honoring Hilaree’ on the Horbein Couloir on Mt. Everest.

Everest North Side - Horbein Couloir marked blue / Wikipedia

Remembering Hilaree Nelson

Nearly two years ago, Hilaree Nelson and her life-partner Jim Morrison summited 26,781-foot Manaslu – the eighth highest peak in the world. Both accomplished climbers and skiers, they donned their skis and set off from the summit. A small avalanche quickly derailed Nelson, abruptly sending her 5,000 feet down the formable mountain to her death.

Nelson was an exceptional skier, having grown up in Seattle and learning to ski in the rugged Cascade Mountains. She further refined her skiing abilities in Europe, and in 1996 won the European Extreme Ski Competition in Chamonix, France. In 2015, she was the first female to descend Makalu La Couloir on 27,766-foot Makalu. In 2018, she and Morrison made the first ski descent of Lhotse, the fourth highest peak in the world, making her one of National Geographic’s Adventurers of the Year.

The lure of the mountains can be intense, though the consequences of going are often fatal But to many adventurers, the exhilarating journey is worth the lofty risk. Abigail Barronian eloquently wrote an  about the amazing Hilaree, and her tragic death, in September, 2022. “Her accomplishments made her a larger-than-life character, but she never bought into the hype,” wrote climber Mark Synnott in a tribute. “She wore the mantle of being one of the world’s preeminent ski mountaineers (male or female) with a grace and genuine humility.”