WHY SKIING UPHILL

SKIING UPHILL sounds awkward, counterintuitive and somewhat implausible.

Yet anyone pursuing an idea will recognize the feeling immediately.

Innovation is often about succeeding against the run of play, and that’s where this blog series can help you.

So, what are you waiting for… let’s go.

SKIING UPHILL… The Innovation Black Run… What’s in a title

I’m neither a skier nor a climber, so why the analogy of three challenging peaks? I was searching for something symbolic, not literal, something that reflects the book’s energy.

Put simply, I was looking for something engaging, relatable and a little unexpected. My research led me to the perfect metaphor: ski mountaineering, an extremely, extreme pursuit for those so inclined.

Now, timing is everything and on this occasion my research fell sublimely on point. On 15 October 2025, just days after I began mapping the framework of this book, fate handed me a real-world story that perfectly teed up the title I’d landed on.

And on that note, let me introduce what can only be described as a hare-brained scheme. The brainchild of Jim Morrison, a world-renowned ski mountaineer from California, an American with seemingly no filter for danger. He took it upon himself to scale the Supercouloir, a steep narrow gully carved into the north face of Mount Everest. (Personally, I’d have hitched a helicopter ride to conserve energy, but hey, that’s me, and Jim was probably on a tight budget).

Atop the world, he promptly strapped on his skis and hurtled back down a treacherous 9,000-foot, blacker than black run few could ever imagine.

Brave? To the extreme.

Intrepid explorer? Without question.

Lucky to be alive? You bet.

Genius or on the cusp of madness? It’s a fine line, but for me he falls firmly on the side of legend, the absolute definition of one, and I’m in awe.

Just like Jim, have you ever felt you’re heading in a completely different direction to everyone else? Their journey may look smoother, even faster. Yours probably feels tougher, yet perversely more rewarding.

From experience I can tell you that navigating up Mount I’ve Got a Bright Idea is only marginally less daunting than deciding to conquer Everest. Yet many have, and many more will.

There’s much more to Jim’s story, as you can imagine, and we’ll keep circling back to his unique perspective on what it means to be an innovator.