In the wake of not one but two personal tragedies, on 15th October, 2025 American mountaineer and skier Jim Morrison created history on Mount Everest. Before Morrison’s monumental achievement, only five others had ascended the world’s highest peak via the most direct route on the north side, the last in 1991.
As if that wasn’t enough, nobody had done what Morrison somehow managed to pull off. Once he summited, he skied down the mountain via the perilous, steep, narrow gully, the Hornbein Couloir. That alone took four hours and five minutes.
In climbing Everest, having earlier done so via the “easier” south side in 2018, he was joined by 11 other climbers, including filmmaker Jimmy Chin. Chin, alongside his wife Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, co-directed the revelatory National Geographic documentary Everest: The Other Side. Their earlier doco, Free Solo, won Best Documentary Feature at the 2019 Oscars.
With stunning, sharp cinematography, that includes footage from the roof of the world, what we witness in Everest: The Other Side is an emotional roller coaster. Apart from mountaineering and skiing, Morrison had four loves in his life … and he lost all of them. The circumstances, which continue to haunt him, are devastating. We learn all about them while watching the preparations for Morrison’s journey of a lifetime. In short, they are crushing – heartbreaking.
And lest you imagine that summiting Everest via the Horbein Couloir was straight forward, think again. It was met by setback after setback, most notably the inclement weather and an injury to a highly valued and important member of Morrison’s team the year before. 2025 marked the third year in a row they had attempted the climb and, even then, their window of opportunity to do so had almost expired.
Before Morrison achieved his long-held goal, he and his beloved partner Hilaree Nelson, who is an integral part of the documentary, achieved another world first. In September 2018, the pair became the first climbers to summit the world’s fourth highest mountain, Lhotse, before skiing down it via the Lhotse Couloir. It was thereafter that they set their sights on Everest.
The doco features footage and interviews with Morrison, Nelson, Chin and Vasarhelyi, alongside many others, before they achieved the ultimate. Everest: The Other Side exposes Morrison and Nelson’s super driven mindset, cognisant of risk, and their deep-seated love for one another. Notwithstanding the phenomenal achievement, I was left asking at what cost? To find out more, you will just have to watch the bittersweet documentary for yourself.
Alex First
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Alex First is the editor of The Blurb. Alex is a Melbourne based journalist and communications specialist. He also contributes to The Blurb on film and theatre.