The Oprah Podcast

He Lost it All, Then Did the Impossible

The Oprah Podcast

Show Notes

In this episode we’re joined by Jim Morrison, the first person ever to summit and ski down the North face of Mt. Everest, a seemingly impossible feat. Oprah and Jim talk about his process of preparing for his historic ski run after previously attempting the climb twice before. Jim also reflects on the unbelievable tragedies in his life and how he managed his grief. Jim lost his wife and children in a plane crash in 2011, then his partner and fellow famed mountain skier, Hilaree Nelson, died in 2022 in an avalanche right in front of Jim. Academy Award winning filmmaker Jimmy Chin joins the conversation to give his perspective on how he and their film crew prepared to record this extraordinary accomplishment for a new documentary, “Everest, The Other Side.”

WATCH THE MOVIE “Everest: the Other Side” will play in theaters and IMAX worldwide starting October 30th.

00:00:00 - Welcome Jim Morrison 00:04:30 - What goes through Jim’s mind on top of Everest 00:07:12 - What drove Jim to ski down Everest 00:09:25 - Jim lost his partner Hilaree 00:12:12 - Jim’s loss of his wife and two kids 00:17:00 - Jim’s definition of grief 00:30:00 - He failed to summit Mt. Everest 3 times 00:32:56 - Director Jimmy Chin joins 00:49:50 - A well-lived life

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