When you live in your car, a night at 18,000 feet isn¹t so bad.

ZALMAI AHAD

Climbing's itinerant charmer: Chin in Salt Lake City, Utah

Age: 27
Height: 5'7"
Latest claim to fame: 12-day first ascent of 3,500-foot Tahir Tower in Pakistan's Kondus Valley, a military zone closed to foreigners since 1982.
Chin's Usual weight: 155 pounds.
Weight in Pakistan: 140 pounds.
Years lived in a blue Subaru station wagon: five.
Months in 2001 he'll be out of the country, including time for a first-ever attempt in May of the south face of 22,749-foot K7 in Pakistan's Karakoram Range with Conrad Anker and pal Brady Robinson: six.
Number of climbing expeditions into off-limits military zones for which a Pakistani general has granted Chin a permit: two.
Why Chin sent the résumé of General Tahir's son to a California tech firm: "Something that doesn't take much effort on my end could be really good for him. It's the same for General Tahir. Opening K7 isn¹t a big deal for him."
Conrad Anker's take: "Jimmy just wants to climb. He knows how to get things done in Asia and how to deal with government bureaucracies."
Why American Alpine Club expedition committee chairman Charley Mace believes Chin is still a bachelor: "He's the kind of guy you'd want your daughter to marry. Except he's a climbing bum.' —Misty Blakesley