The Tim Ferriss Show - The Athlete (And Artist) Who Cheats Death, Jimmy Chin: Jimmy Chin: artist and professional athlete

"Jimmy Chin (@jimkchin) is an artist and professional athlete, often at the same time. If Chase Jarvis and Laird Hamilton had a love child, it would be Jimmy. He has participated in and documented breakthrough expeditions around the planet, from climbing first ascents in the Karakoram to skiing first descents in the Himalayas. He is one of the few people to both climb Mount Everest and ski it from the summit. Most recently, he filmed and directed the incredible feature documentary MERU, which is in theaters now and won the 2015 Audience Award at Sundance. What is MERU? In the high-stakes game of big-wall climbing, the Shark’s Fin on Mount Meru is the ultimate prize. Everest is a cakewalk by comparison. Sitting at the headwaters of the sacred Ganges River in Northern India, the Shark’s Fin has seen more failed attempts by elite climbing teams over the past 30 years than any other ascent in the Himalayas. This movie is the story of one group’s journey to conquer it—a white-knuckle quest of friendship, sacrifice, hope and obsession. How Jimmy captured it on film while risking his life is almost impossible to fathom. In this episode of the podcast, we talk about his origins, training, nutrition, gear, and MERU, of course. Suffice to say, if you want a benevolent kick in the ass, the film MERU is your assignment. I saw it a few weeks ago, and all my family could say for minutes afterward was, “Whoa….” My refrain was, “Holy shit…,” which I muttered to myself at least 20 times in 90 minutes. It’s an amazing, terrifying, and inspiring edge-of-your-seat experience."