Accomplished mountaineer, Hilaree Nelson, 49, was found dead in the ice and snow, after falling off a mountain peak in Nepal on September 26.
While Nelson and her partner, Jim Morrison, were skiing down Manaslu, a 26,700-foot mountain, an avalanche developed. According to Morrison, Nelson was “swept off her feet” and was tossed toward the opposite side of the mountain’s climbing route.
According to other climbers who witnessed the fall, she ended up in a deep crevasse in the ice, a short while after reaching the summit, and beginning her descent down.
Mt. Manaslu is the eighth highest peak in the world.
Hilaree Nelson had posted on her Instagram account that she was not feeling confident about conquering the mountain. “I am challenged to find the peace and inspiration from the mountain when it’s been constantly shrouded in mist,” she captioned the photo of her and Morrison on a climb.
Nelson and Morrison were known to be the first to ski down Nepal’s Mt. Lhotse, which is the world’s fourth highest mountain. Nelson also held the world record of being the first female climber to conquer adjacent peaks Mt. Everest and Mt. Lhotse on the same day. She excelled at extreme skiing and later at ski mountaineering, and she had completed the first ski descent of the Altai mountain range in Mongolia in 2002.
“My loss is indescribable,” Morrison said about his partner’s death. He was also part of the team who searched for Nelson.
Nelson left behind two children.
The mountaineering company, North Face, issued a statement of condolences for Nelson.
The US ski mountaineer was cremated at Swayambhunath Kathmandu. May she find the peace she was looking for on the beloved mountain.