2022
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Jimmy Chin is a professional mountain athlete, photographer, and director who has documented expeditions and climbs in the Himalayas, Antarctica, and other remote regions. He co-directed the award-winning documentaries Meru, Free Solo, and The Rescue, and wrote a best-selling book of photography There and Back.
Jimmy Chin is a multi-talented artist who captures stunning images and stories of the natural world and its challenges. Explore his stills, motion, press, shop and speaking engagements on his official website.
Jimmy Chin is a versatile and accomplished adventurer who has achieved feats in climbing, skiing, photography and filmmaking. Learn about his biography, awards, expeditions, books and projects on his official website.
- Overview
- Has becoming a father affected how you approach decision-making in the mountains?
- How do you define your job?
- What’s the balance for you with climbing and skiing?
- What role has mentorship played in your success?
- Who is someone younger than you who has inspired you?
- What themes do you like to focus on as an expedition storyteller?
- How does your heritage influence you?
- Chin's Photographs of Alex Honnold's Yosemite Free-Solo Climb
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Here's how the acclaimed climber and skier found his path to adventure storytelling.
Watch Alex Honnold’s journey toward his rope-free climb of Yosemite National Park's El Capitan in Free Solo, the Oscar-winning film by E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, Sunday March 3 at 9/8c on National Geographic.
During the Communist Revolution, Jimmy Chin’s parents escaped mainland China and fled to Taiwan. Eventually, they immigrated to the flatlands of Mankato, Minnesota, where they built a life working as librarians. It was an unlikely setting to raise a world-class mountaineer.
“I grew up as far away from the adventure world as you can get,” says Chin, 44. “I didn’t grow up climbing and skiing in Estes Park. I grew up reading.”
The precocious Chin, fluent in Chinese and English, started playing violin at age four. He got straight A’s through school, swam competitively, and competed in martial arts. The merits of hard work and humility were recurrent themes in the kung fu stories his father often told him.
“I was told you had to sweep the front door of the Shaolin temple for years before the masters would even look at you,” says Chin. “You had to prove yourself.”
You know, probably … but not significantly. There’s certainly one more layer to the decisions I make, but I attribute some of that to age as well. When my daughter hit 3.5 years old, it really shifted significantly for me in that I just want to hang out with her and my son all the time. Like, really, really all the time. I’m like, she’s so killer, ...
That’s never been an easy one. I often say I’m a photographer and director. I never say “professional athlete.” I was never that comfortable with that idea.
They’re so different in obvious ways, but they’re also similar. I find a lot of happiness and joy in climbing and skiing. I need them both. They’re my sanity checks. They’re what I do. They’re a great source of motivation. They’re also my favorite way to interact with my friends and community. The heart of who I am is in the climbing and skiing communities.
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I’ve had a lot of incredible mentors. Certainly Conrad Anker has been an incredible mentor and friend. After my first expedition to Pakistan, I met him at a trade show. He came up to me, knew my name, and what I had just climbed. I was so stoked. He got me my first commercial shoot with The North Face, got me on the team, and helped me with my firs...
Right now, it’s Alex Honnold. When he’s focused, he is so methodical and disciplined.
I’m an optimistic person. I’m someone who likes to call out other people’s strengths. I think there are a lot of meaningful stories that come out of expeditions because they represent the positive sides of humanity. Perseverance. Overcoming challenges. Teamwork. Trust. These are the things I feel and appreciate.
I was brought up in an immigrant family. That means you worked hard. If you’re going to bother doing something, you needed to do it really well. It was all about excellence. There weren’t any excuses. I grew up swimming competitively, studying, competing in martial arts, and playing violin.
I learned that there’s no way around hard work and putting in time and practicing.
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Honnold has been practicing for the daring climb for more than a year, training on routes throughout the Yosemite Valley and other locations around the globe.
Honnold has been practicing for the daring climb for more than a year, training on routes throughout the Yosemite Valley and other locations around the globe.
Photograph by Jimmy Chin
I would try to be encouraging, but I’m a tough-love person. I’ve had a lot of people help me along the way … but I also believe that you don’t find your mentors, they find you. People might not understand that. When people want advice, often times the intention is, “What’s the shortcut? How can I get where you are without putting in the work?” I’d like to think that I was putting in the work and the time, and that’s what Conrad and some of the other mentors I’ve had in my life recognized in me. It all goes back to my father’s kung fu stories. You have to spend years sweeping the front door before the grand masters will let you in.
Learn how Jimmy Chin, a former violinist and martial artist, became a world-class mountaineer and adventure storyteller. Read about his achievements, challenges, and inspirations in this interview by Andrew Bisharat.
May 7, 2020 · Learn about the incredible achievements and adventures of Jimmy Chin, the director of Meru and Free Solo and Oscar award-winning moviemaker. From his first published photo in 1999 to his near-death experiences on Everest and the Tetons, Chin shares his passion for climbing and skiing.
- Chris Van Leuven
Jimmy Chin is an award-winning filmmaker and adventurer who has documented extreme sports and expeditions. He was born in Minnesota in 1973 and married to Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, with whom he won an Oscar for Free Solo (2018).
Dec 11, 2017 · Jimmy Chin is a National Geographic contributor who has documented expeditions in Antarctica, Tibet, and the Himalayas. He has also made first ascents and descents on mountains like Meru and Everest, and directed the award-winning documentary Meru.
