TETON VILLAGE, Wyo. — Climber, National Geographic photographer, New York Times best selling author and Academy Award-winning filmmaker Jimmy Chin shared how he manages risk in the mountains during a his first Jackson speaking event at Teton Mountain Lodge on Friday, Feb. 14.
Chin has accomplished first ascents and first ski descents on all seven continents, some of which include Mount Everest in the Himalayas, Mount Meru in India, Ulvetanna in Antarctica, Chiru Mustagh in China, Tahir Tower and Fathi Tower in Pakistan and Kaga Pomori in Africa. He also made the first solo winter ski descent of the Grand Teton in his hometown of Jackson in June 2008.
While his expeditions have taken him all over the world, Chin said that the question he most often gets asked is, “How many times have you climbed the Grand?” He then joked that he has lost count, but guessed that he has skied the Grand at least 30 times.
Professional ski mountaineer Rob Deslauriers, who has accompanied Chin on many of his expeditions, led the discussion by asking Chin how he evaluates risk when photographing, filming and/or scaling up the side of a mountain.
Chin shared a piece of advice that author Jon Krakauer once told him: “There are two great risks in life — risking too much or risking too little.”
“I think his message to me was that there’s also a high cost for not taking a risk,” Chin said.
“There’s also a high cost for not taking a risk.”
Jimmy Chin
Chin said that most of his career has been evaluating that fine line in decision making.
“I’ve missed calculations before, but I try to always examine both sides and I look at what the cost of not taking a risk is,” Chin said. “I think in those real moments where things are very high consequence, slow is fast. You really have to take that beat to take into account all of the different variables.”
Chin added that risk calculation is about objective decision making.
“It’s really about taking that moment to slow down, gather yourself and reexamine the actual facts and what you are looking at in real time,” Chin said.
He reflected that taking time to slow down to assess options could also be applied to a lot of different areas of life, including finance or other kinds of work.
Chin told Buckrail that even with all his worldly travels, he still considers Jackson his physical and spiritual home.
“This is my community still,” Chin said. “A lot of my closest friends are still here. I am skiing Teton Pass all the time. Every time that I have a break, I am here.”
