According to The Himalayan Times, renowned ski mountaineer Hilaree Nelson is missing on Manaslu in Nepal. Eyewitnesses reported that Nelson, 49, fell more than 80 feet into a crevasse while descending on skis from the 26,781-foot peak with her partner, Jim Morrison.
Morrison and Nelson were a part of a ski expedition managed by Shangri-La Nepal Treks. As of the morning of September 26, it was reported that Morrison was continuing to Camp III while their team of guides and Sherpas remained at Camp IV. Bad weather has so far prevented rescue attempts.
Nelson is a mother of two who lives in Telluride, Colorado. As part of The North Face’s athlete team, Nelson and Morrison have tackled numerous impressive descents, including the first ski descent of the Lhotse Couloir in 2018, for which the pair won National Geographic’s Adventurer of the Year award. In 2012, Nelson climbed both Everest and Lhotse in a 24-hour period, making her the first woman to do so. She has the first female descent of Bubble Fun, a rarely skied line on Buck Mountain in Wyoming’s Teton Range and won the European Women’s Extreme Skiing Championship in 1996.
In an unrelated incident, at least 12 climbers were injured in an avalanche below Camp IV. At least five of the injured climbers are in critical condition, according to a report from The Himalayan Times. The parties involved were shuttling gear to Camp IV in hopes of summitting September 28 or 29. More than 400 climbers planned to summit during the upcoming weather window. Rescue operations are ongoing for this incident but have been slowed by bad weather.
This is an ongoing report, and we will add more information on both incidents as it becomes available.
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