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Hilaree Nelson goes missing after falling into 2,000ft crevasse as she skied down world's 8th highest peak

Hilaree Nelson, 49, went missing on September 26, while skiing down Mount Manaslu with boyfriend Jim Morrison

MOUNT MANASLU, NEPAL: Mountaineer Hilaree Nelson has been reported missing after she reached the summit of Mount Manaslu in Nepal and then fell into a 2,000ft deep crevasse as she skied down the world's eighth highest peak. Nelson was the first woman to climb two 8,000m peaks, Everest and Lhotse within 24 hours. The 49-year-old went missing on Monday, September 26, while skiing down the mountain with her boyfriend Jim Morrison.

Morrison returned to base camp and reported Nelson missing but rescue attempts failed as helicopters couldn't enter the remote and extremely high site due to bad weather. Another eyewitness to Nelson's descent said she fell around 80ft into a vertical crevasse and it was not known if she has survived the initial fall.

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Nelson, who is sponsored by the outdoor adenture brand North Face, lives with her sons Quin and Graydon, 15 and 13 years old respectively, in old Graydon in Telluride, Colorado. The boys are currently with her ex-husband while she was away. In 2018, Nelson retuned to Nepal with Morrison, and the pair became the first to successfully ski down Lhotse, the world's fourth-highest peak at 27,940ft. The couple then decided to ski down Manaslu but found it extremely challenging.

Nelson took it to Instagram to explain the situation and wrote, "I haven't felt as sure-footed on Manaslu as I have on past adventure into the thin atmosphere of the high Himalaya." She even wrote she was homesick due to the challenging weather. "The constant monsoon with its incessant rain and humidity has made me hopelessly homesick," she said. Nevertheless, after finding out about news about Nelson, her family, friends, peers and admirers are all hoping for her safe return.

According to The Guardian, officials had reported an avalanche on the mountain on the same day resulting in the death of another climber. The report also added that inclement weather conditions made reaching the summit a herculean task for many climbers this year. The bad weather also affected search and rescue operations.  

In 2018 she was recognized as a National Geographic adventurer of the year after summiting and skiing down Papsura, known as the Peak of Evil, in India and then doing the same on Denali in Alaska. Before Nelson's tragic incident, another report claimed one person was killed in an avalanche on the same day, 12 people trapped and four of them critically injured. Nelson's sponsor took to Twitter to update the ordeal and wrote, "Sharing an update on Hilaree Nelson, a beloved member of The North Face family." Alexander Pancoe, one of only 16 Americans to complete the Explorer's Grand Slam of reaching the North and South Pole and all of the Seven Summits, tweeted, "Tragic. Hoping for a miracle - I’ve been mesmerized by Hilaree Nelson and Jim Morrison since I first discovered my love of climbing." Nick Heil, who wrote 'Dark Summit: The True Story of Everest's Most Controversial Season', tweeted, "Oh no. This does not sound good. North Face athlete Hilaree Nelson missing as Jim Morrison skies from Manaslu summit." Another admirer, Dash Hegeman, tweeted: "I had the pleasure of working with her on a project before. Such an amazing person! Really hoping for a positive outcome. The world needs more Hilaree Nelson's…not less."