• NORTH FACE SKI DESCENT
KATHMANDU, SEPTEMBER 20
China has barred top American climbers, who were to lead an expedition on Mt Everest, from entering Tibet this season.
American climbers Conrad Anker and Jimmy Chin have been denied access to Tibet while a group of Nepali and American mountaineers today left for Kerung to begin an expedition on Mt Everest from the northern route.
Conrad, team leader of the ski expedition, returned to Kathmandu from the Kerung border after Chinese authorities rejected his visa request, sources said.
Jimmy, head of the filming group, has also not been granted a Tibet visa till date. The ski expedition funded by National Geographic Society was locally managed by Elite Exped.
Following the Beijing's denial for a Tibet permit request, sources claimed that Jimmy Chin has already reached Beijing to negotiate with the Tibetan authorities.
According to sources, the expedition will have Nepali, American and Chinese members.
"Only four American climbers including Jimmy Chin will be attempting to scale Mt Everest from the northern route via Hornbein Couloir."
Earlier, renowned American mountaineer-cum-author Conrad located George Mallory's body on Mt Everest as a member of a search team looking for the remains of the British climber in1999. The production team head, Jimmy, is a professional mountain athlete, National Geographic photographer, academy award-winning film director, and New York Times bestselling author.
The million-dollar NatGeo's North Face Ski Project aims to produce a film on ski descent from the top of Everest via Hornbein Couloir this autumn. The Couloir was named after a member of the 1963 US Everest Expedition, Thomas Hornbein.
A team of Sherpa climbers including Mingma Tenzi Sherpa, co-owner of Elite Exped, will provide ground support while a few Chinese members will also join the guiding team in Tibet.
Ski mountaineer Jim Morrison and award-winning cinematographer Mark Fisher will also attempt to scale Everest for the filming project.
"It's a project designed by Jim Morrison in memory of his partner Hilaree Nelson," sources said. Extreme American ski mountaineer Hilaree had been found dead after attempting to ski down from the summit of Mt Manaslu in 2022.
The ski team has obtained an Everest climbing permit for normal route. Sources said it would seek permit from Tibetan authorities for the Hornbein Couloir route as soon as possible.
A version of this article appears in the print on September 21, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
