Hilaree Nelson

Hilaree Nelson (December 13, 1972 – September 26, 2022) was an American ski mountaineer. She became the first woman to summit two 8000-meter peaks (Everest and Lhotse) in one 24-hour push on May 25, 2012. On September 30, 2018, Nelson and partner Jim Morrison made the first ski descent of the "Dream Line", the Lhotse Couloir from the summit. Lhotse is the 4th-highest mountain in the world and shares a saddle with Mount Everest.

Nelson was named one of "The 25 Most Adventurous Women of the Past 25 Years" by Men's Journal, as well as being named as one of National Geographic's 2018 Adventurers of the Year.

Career

Nelson was born on December 13, 1972, in Seattle, where she grew up and started skiing at Stevens Pass at the age of three. She was a mother of two sons, and resided in Telluride, Colorado. She served as The North Face global athletic team captain. She was a team member on the 2012 Montana State University Everest Education Expedition. Nelson was a National Geographic Explorers grant recipient, a member of over 40 expeditions, and had first ski descents on Baffin and South Georgia Islands, Argentina, Kamchatka, Russia, and the Tetons.

Her writing has been featured in such publications as National Geographic Adventure, The Ski Journal, and the Outside Journal.

• First ski descent of the Dream Line (from summit), Lhotse Couloir, Nepal, 2018
• First ski descent of Papsura, India, 2017
• First female descent of Makalu La Couloir, Nepal, 2015
• First to ski all five "Holy Peaks", Mongolian Altai
• First female to climb Everest and Lhotse in 24 hours, Nepal, May 25, 2012
• Skied from the summit of Cho Oyu, Tibet, September 22, 2005
• Skied from the summit of Denali, Messner Couloir, USA, June 16, 2011
• First female descent of Bubble Fun Couloir, Tetons, USA
• European Women's Extreme Skiing Champion, 1996

• Part of the "She Moves Mountains" campaign between The North Face and Girl Scouts of the USA

Death

On September 26, 2022, while skiing with Morrison, Nelson was caught by a small avalanche, leading to a fall of more than 1,800 meters (5,900 ft) from the summit of Manaslu in Nepal. Initial rescue efforts were hampered by bad weather, but on September 28, her body was located above the Thulagi glacier on the south face of Mount Manaslu, and was flown to Kathmandu by rescuers.

Nelson's body was cremated in Kathmandu on October 2, 2022.

Filmography

• Lhotse
• Down to Nothing
• The Denali Experiment (2011, 15 min, directed by Jimmy Chin and Renan Ozturk)
• Fine Lines (2018, 96 min)
• K2: The Impossible Descent (2020, 65 min)

Accolades

• Named one of "The 25 Most Adventurous Women of the Past 25 Years" by Men's Journal.
• Named one of National Geographic's 2018 Adventurers of the Year