Jimmy Chin’s brushes with death and the “greatest athletic human feat”

VAIL — Imagine executing a flawless Olympic-level gymnastics routine, says world-renowned photographer, director and mountaineer Jimmy Chin.
“It has to be executed absolutely perfectly for four hours. And if you make even the slightest mistake — if your hips are 1 centimeter off on some of these moves where you are weighting your feet in a hyper-specific manner on a dime-edge hold — you are dead,” Chin says.
Chin leans closer. He slows his cadence. Widens his eyes.