Famed US ski adventurer Hilaree Nelson found dead in the Himalayas
A US ski mountaineer who went missing in Nepal on the world’s eighth-highest peak has been found dead, officials said.
Hilaree Nelson, 49 — who fell into a crevasse while skiing down Mount Manaslu in the Himalayas with her partner Jim Morrison — was discovered Wednesday on the south side of the mountain, officials who organized the expedition confirmed to NBC News.
Expedition company Shangri-La Nepal Trek said her body was taken by helicopter to Kathmandu, where officials will perform an autopsy.
Mountaineer Nims Purja, co-founder of the Elite Exped tour company, later shared on social media that his team led the recovery efforts.
“Our condolences to brother Jim,” he wrote.
“[Hilaree] will be on her way home soon.”
Nelson’s death comes less than a week after she posted on Instagram about feeling less confident on the mountain. “These past weeks have tested my resilience in new ways,” she said alongside images of her and Morrison in climbing gear.
“I am challenged to find the peace and inspiration from the mountain when it’s been constantly shrouded in mist.”
Often hailed as the most prolific ski mountaineer of her generation, Nelson was the first woman to be named North Face Global Athletic team captain. In 2017, she and Morrison were the first Americans to summit India’s Papsura, or “Peak of Evil.” The feat earned Nelson the National Geographic Adventurer of the Year title in 2018.
Originally from Seattle, Nelson was based in Telluride, Colorado, at the time of her death. In addition to Morrison, her romantic and climbing partner, she leaves behind two young sons and an ex-husband.
In the wake of Nelson’s death, North Face issued a heartbreaking statement honoring “our hero, mentor, and our friend.”
“Hilaree Nelson held a spirit as big as the places she led us to. She embodied possibility. Her adventures made us feel at home in the vastness of the world,” the company wrote.
Morrison, who greeted Nelson’s body at Kathmandu, commented on her death on Instagram a few hours later.
“There are no words to describe the love for this woman, my life partner, my lover, my best friend, and my mountain partner,” he wrote.
Describing how Nelson was “swept off her feet” by a small avalanche while skiing down the Manaslu summit, Morrison said that he “did everything…to locate her but was unable to go down the face as I hoped to find her alive and live my life with her.”
“My loss is indescribable,” he continued.
“I am focused on her children and their steps forward. [Hilaree] is the most inspiring person in life and now her energy will guide our collective souls.”
