“I figured that one day when my knees are shot and I’m all hunched from too many heavy backpacks, that I’d have time for painting and drawing. As they loaded me in the ambulance, I realized that time might not be two decades away.” – Jim Harris
Jim Harris was living his dream as an in-demand expedition photographer, having parlayed a career as a mountaineering instructor in photo shoots for National Geographic, Powder, and Men’s Journal. His newfound expertise took him far from his home in Utah to the craziest of places the world over, from Mongolia and Bolivia to Antarctica. But in November of 2014, it all changed.
While on a trip to Patagonia, Harris and his partner were prepping for an upcoming journey with a traction kite which they planned to utilize along the windswept mountains. However, during practice, a strong gust caught the kite and pulled Harris sky high before slamming him back into the ground. The collision left him with two broken vertebrae in his back, two more shattered, and no feeling or movement in his lower body.
According to the Vimeo description, “an outdoor community fundraising effort raised $107,750 for Harris’ medical evacuation, surgeries and rehabilitation.”
But, unfortunately, his recovery doesn’t end there. Upon arriving home, he begins his rehabilitation in a state-of-the-art spinal cord facility at Craig Hospital in Englewood, Colorado.
“Places to Go: A Jim Harris Story” (set to be released this fall) is a documentary following Jim’s physical, mental, and emotional recovery from the tragic incident that stole away his life’s pursuits.
