One of the greatest skiing challenges has just been accomplished. The Tibetan side of Everest was the goal of a major National Geographic expedition: to accompany skier Jim Morrison in his project to ski down the Hornbein Couloir on the north side of Everest, where French snowboarder Marco Siffredi disappeared in 2002. The feat was accomplished on October 15, in front of Jimmy Chin’s camera. With or without bottled oxygen, Nat Geo does not specify.
He devoted himself wholeheartedly to his passion for high-altitude mountaineering, and it took a heavy toll on him. American Jim Morrison has now reached Everest via the Tibetan side before skiing down the same slope, the dream of several generations of skiers. And that of Marco Siffredi, who, after descending the Norton Couloir and the normal Tibetan route in 2001, disappeared while attempting to descend the Hornbein Couloir the following year.
The Hornbein is