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.[2][3] On September 30, 2018, Nelson and partner Jim Morrison made the first ski descent of the "Dream Line", the Lhotse Couloir from the summit.[4][5][6] Lhotse is the 4th-highest mountain in the world and shares a saddle with Mount Everest.

Hilaree Nelson
Nelson in 2018
Born(1972-12-13)December 13, 1972
Seattle, Washington, U.S.
DiedSeptember 26, 2022(2022-09-26) (aged 49)
Manaslu, Nepal
OccupationSki mountaineer
Spouse
Brian O'Neill
​
(divorced)​
[1]
PartnerJim Morrison
Children2

Nelson was named one of "The 25 Most Adventurous Women of the Past 25 Years" by Men's Journal,[7] as well as being named as one of National Geographic's 2018 Adventurers of the Year.[8]

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.[1] She was a mother of two sons, and resided in Telluride, Colorado.[1] She served as The North Face global athletic team captain.[9][10][11][12] She was a team member on the 2012 Montana State University Everest Education Expedition.[13] 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.[14]

Her writing has been featured in such publications as National Geographic Adventure, The Ski Journal, and the Outside Journal.[15]

Notable accomplishments
  • First ski descent of the Dream Line (from summit), Lhotse Couloir, Nepal, 2018[4][5][6]
  • First ski descent of Papsura, India, 2017[16]
  • First female descent of Makalu La Couloir, Nepal, 2015[4]
  • First to ski all five "Holy Peaks", Mongolian Altai[17][7]
  • First female to climb Everest and Lhotse in 24 hours, Nepal, May 25, 2012[2]
  • Skied from the summit of Cho Oyu, Tibet, September 22, 2005[7][18]
  • Skied from the summit of Denali, Messner Couloir, USA, June 16, 2011[19]
  • First female descent of Bubble Fun Couloir, Tetons, USA[19]
  • European Women's Extreme Skiing Champion, 1996[7]

Advocacy

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.[22][23][24] 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.[25][26]

Nelson's body was cremated in Kathmandu on October 2, 2022.[27]

Filmography
  • Lhotse[28]
  • Down to Nothing[29]
  • The Denali Experiment (2011, 15 min, directed by Jimmy Chin and Renan Ozturk)[30]
  • Fine Lines (2018, 96 min)[31]
  • K2: The Impossible Descent (2020, 65 min)[32]

Accolades
  • Named one of "The Most 25 Adventurous Women of the Past 25 Years" by Men's Journal.[7]
  • Named one of National Geographic's 2018 Adventurers of the Year[8]

See also

References
  1. Branch, John (September 28, 2022). "Hilaree Nelson, 49, Top Ski Mountaineer, Is Dead in Nepal Avalanche". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 1, 2022. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
  2. Klingsporn, Katie (June 14, 2012). "On top of the world, and then back again; Telluride athlete Hilaree O'Neill summits Everest Lhotse in 24 hours" Archived October 1, 2022, at the Wayback Machine. Telluride Daily Planet.
  3. Crylen, Mary (May 11, 2019). "Ski mountaineer Hilaree Nelson at National Geographic Live". Chicago Stage Standard. Archived from the original on July 5, 2020.
  4. Quarrier, Sadie (October 12, 2018) "Interview: First ski descent of the world's fourth tallest peak" Archived October 1, 2022, at the Wayback Machine. National Geographic.
  5. Brown, Julie. "How Hilaree Nelson and Jim Morrison Skied Lhotse" Archived July 4, 2020, at the Wayback Machine. Outsideonline.com
  6. Chris Ballard (February 6, 2020). "Love and Lhotse". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on September 27, 2022. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  7. Potts, Mary Anne The 25 most adventurous women of the past 25 years Archived October 1, 2020, at the Wayback Machine Men's Journal
  8. "National Geographic's 2018 Adventurers of the Year" Archived August 6, 2020, at the Wayback Machine. nationalgeographic.com.
  9. "The North Face Athlete profile". Archived July 5, 2020, at the Wayback Machine. thenorthface.com.
  10. "Black Diamond Equipment Athlete profile". Archived July 6, 2020, at the Wayback Machine. blackdiamondequipment.com.
  11. Mitka, Nate (July 17, 2018). Hilaree Nelson Replaces Conrad Anker as TNF Team Captain" Archived July 17, 2018, at the Wayback Machine. Gearjunkie.com
  12. Beekman, Kimberley. "Breaking through: A six-part series profiling athletes reaching the next level in their sport: Hilaree Nelson" Archived July 4, 2020, at the Wayback Machine. Tetongravity.com
  13. "MSU Everest Education Expedition team members" Archived September 30, 2020, at the Wayback Machine. Montana.edu
  14. "Hilaree Nelson notched many firsts in a life of high-altitude adventures". Adventure. September 28, 2022.
  15. "About Hilaree Nelson" Archived April 26, 2020, at the Wayback Machine. Adventuremedicalkits.com
  16. Bisharat, Andrew (2018). "This Ski Mountaineer Found Redemption on India's Peak of Evil" Archived July 4, 2020, at the Wayback Machine.
  17. Olson, Emily (November 27, 2017). "Above the clouds and beyond the brink with adventurer Hilaree O'Neill" Archived November 29, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. thesixfifty.com.
  18. "Cho Oyu Autumn 2005 Ascents". Archived December 23, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. himalayandatabase.com.
  19. Brown, Julie (February 16, 2018). "The mountains are calling, and Hilaree O'Neill must go". Archived July 4, 2020, at the Wayback Machine.
  20. Hilaree Moves Mountains Archived August 3, 2020, at the Wayback Machine thenorthface.com
  21. Hinton, Graham (February 7, 2019). "Where Gillette got it wrong, The North Face gets it right with its 'She Moves Mountains' campaign". Archived July 6, 2020, at the Wayback Machine. creativemovement.co.
  22. Binaj Gurubacharya (September 27, 2022). "Famed American ski mountaineer missing in Nepal mountain". ABC News. Associated Press. Archived from the original on September 27, 2022. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  23. Max Matza (September 26, 2022). "Hilaree Nelson: US mountaineer missing after 'skiing into crevasse'". BBC. Archived from the original on September 26, 2022. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  24. Frederick Dreier (September 26, 2022). "Hilaree Nelson Is Missing on Manaslu After a Deadly Day on the Mountain". Outside Online. Archived from the original on September 26, 2022. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  25. "Missing ski mountaineer Hilaree Nelson found dead". The Himalayan Times. September 28, 2022. Archived from the original on September 28, 2022. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
  26. Andrew Thorpe (September 28, 2022). "American mountaineer Hilaree Nelson found dead after fall from Nepal's Mount Manaslu". abc.net.au. Archived from the original on September 28, 2022. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
  27. "Hilaree Nelson: An inspiration for women mountaineers". BBC News. October 3, 2022.
  28. "Watch Film About Epic First Ski Descent of Lhotse". Gripped Magazine. October 16, 2019. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  29. "Down to Nothing | Mountainfilm Festival, Telluride CO". www.mountainfilm.org. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  30. "Down to Nothing". Mountainfilm. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  31. "Fine Lines".
  32. "FILMOGRAPHY Hilaree Nelson".
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