Kathmandu: Famed US mountaineer Hilaree Nelson who had gone missing on Mount Manaslu in western Nepal has been found dead on Wednesday. Nelson had reportedly fallen into a deep crevasse during a ski descent on the world’s eighth tallest mountain on Monday.
DSP Leela Raj Lamichhane at District Police Office, Gorkha, said that Sherpas recovered the dead body this morning and a chopper will be mobilized to bring the body to Samagaun and later to Kathmandu.
On the same day, an avalanche lower on the same summit had left one person dead and more than a dozen injured. The trapped climbers were successfully rescued.
Only 15 minutes after reaching the peak’s 26,781-foot summit, Nelson, 49, reportedly slid and looked to tumble into a 2,000-foot (600-meter) crevasse, according to eyewitness testimonies.
According to reports, her partner, Jim Morrison, was able to safely return to camp after the incident.
Nelson and Morrison are among the most accomplished alpinists and backcountry skiers in the world. The duo, who are based in the Rocky Mountains of the US state of Colorado, have skied off some of the highest and most intimidating mountains in the world
In 2018, they made history by skiing down Mount Lhotse in Nepal, the fourth-highest mountain in the world. In addition, she was the first woman to ascend Mount Everest and Mount Lhotse in the same 24-hour period.
The North Face-sponsored athlete had earlier reached the summit of Mount Manaslu in Nepal with her partner.
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