The body of 49 years old Hilaree Nelson has been found by a search and rescue team for the expedition in the Nepal mountains. Hilaree disappeared two days ago, n the slopes of the Nepal Manaslu peak.
Nepal Manaslu is the eighth highest mountain in the world and she had already reached the peak before she allegedly slipped, after a successful summit with her partner, Jim Morrison.
Morrison came back and help the search and rescue team the next day, as they tried to locate her and get her to rest, but they could not locate her.
Jiban Ghimire of Shangri-La Nepal Trek, which organized the expedition, told AFP:
“The search team that left this morning on a helicopter spotted her body and is bringing her back.”
The tragic situation involving Nelson, known as “the most prolific ski mountaineer of her generation” has represented the United States and women in general, achieving almost impossible feats.
In 2012, she became the first woman to summit both the highest mountain in the world, Everest, and the adjacent Lhotse peak within 24 hours.
Last Thursday, before she was to climb Nepal, Hilaree to her Instagram to write:
“Back bent and head down. I haven’t felt as sure-footed about Manaslu as I have on past adventures into the thin atmosphere of the high Himalayas. These past weeks have tested my resilience in new ways.”
“The constant monsoon with its incessant rain and humidity has made me hopelessly homesick. I am challenged to find peace and inspiration for the mountain when it’s been constantly shrouded in most.”
“Yesterday, we ended our summit bid when we decided it was too dangerous to move from C3 to C4. We subsequently decided to ski down from C3, knowing that would mean carrying our skis all the way back up to the mountain again, if big if here, we try again for a summit. It was the best thing we could’ve done.”
On the same day as Hilaree’s accident, an avalanche hit Camps 3 and 4 on the 8,163-metre (26,781-foot) mountain, killing Nepali climber Anup Rai and injuring a dozen others who were later rescued.
The deaths of Nelson and Rai are the first confirmed casualties of the autumn climbing season in Nepal.
