Body of missing US ski mountaineer Hilaree Nelson found in Nepal

The famed excessive skier was blown off Manaslu, the world’s eighth-highest mountain, by a small avalanche on Monday.

Hilaree Nelson
Hilaree Nelson, left, and associate Jim Morrison after they efficiently skied down the summit of the world's fourth-highest peak Mount Lhotse in 2018 [File: Niranjan Shrestha/AP]

The physique of high American mountaineer Hilaree Nelson has been discovered close to a 26,700-foot (8,138-metre) mountain peak in Nepal the place she went lacking earlier this week.

Nelson, aged 49, was blown off Manaslu, the world’s eighth-highest mountain, by a small avalanche on Monday morning Nepal time as she and her associate, Jim Morrison, skied down from the summit, in keeping with Morrison and her sponsor, The North Face, an out of doors gear firm.

“She was swept off her toes and carried down a slim snow slope down the south aspect [opposite from climbing route] of the mountain,” Morrison posted on his Instagram.

Hilaree Nelson
Morrison carries Nelson’s physique from a helicopter to a hospital in Kathmandu [Niranjan Shrestha/AP]

Search-and-rescue groups had been unable to seek out Nelson’s physique till Wednesday when Morrison and a sherpa had been airlifted to a spot 22,000 toes (6,705 metres) up the mountain.

Her physique was flown by helicopter to a hospital in Kathmandu the place medical doctors deliberate to carry out an post-mortem.

“I’m in Kathmandu together with her and her spirit,” Morrison wrote. “My loss is indescribable and I'm targeted on her youngsters and their steps ahead.”

Nelson, who grew up in Seattle, was thought-about one of many high girls ski mountaineers on the planet. On the time of her loss of life, she was residing in Telluride, Colorado, together with her two sons.

Nelson and Morrison, from Tahoe, California, are excessive skiers who reached the summit of Mount Lhotse, the world’s fourth-highest mountain, in 2018. The feat earned her the Nationwide Geographic Adventurer of the 12 months award.

“At the moment we misplaced our hero, mentor and our pal,” tweeted The North Face, which described her as “probably the most prolific ski mountaineer of her era”.

“Hilaree Nelson held a spirit as massive because the locations she led us to,” the corporate stated.

Hilaree Nelson
The helicopter carrying Nelson’s physique lands at a hospital in Kathmandu [Niranjan Shrestha/AP]

Mountaineers and well-wishers have shared heartfelt messages for Nelson since she went lacking.

“Let’s pray for Hilaree,” fellow The North Face athlete Fernanda Maciel, at the moment on the Manaslu base camp, wrote on Instagram on Tuesday.

Mountain information Caroline George thanked Nelson for uplifting her personal adventures. “She is a beacon … I've infinite gratitude for her journey on this planet and for the legacy she leaves,” she wrote.

Additionally on Monday, an avalanche at a decrease elevation on the identical mountain killed Nepali climber Anup Rai and injured a number of different climbers. Lots of of climbers and their native guides had been trying to succeed in the summit throughout Nepal’s autumn climbing season.

The deaths of Nelson and Rai are the primary confirmed casualties of the autumn climbing season in Nepal.

Nepal’s authorities has issued permits to 404 climbers throughout the autumn season. Most are climbing Mount Manaslu, the place fixed rain and snow have been difficult.

Nepal is residence to eight of the world’s 14 highest peaks and international climbers who flock to its mountains are a major income for the nation.

The trade was virtually utterly shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, however the nation reopened its peaks to mountaineers final yr.

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