Mum missing after reaching summit of world’s eighth highest mountain

A well-known American mountaineer has gone missing after successfully climbing the world's eighth-highest mountain.

Hilaree Nelson, 49, reached the summit of the 8,163 metre-high Manaslu mountain while climbing in Nepal with her partner, Jim Morrison, on Monday (26 September).

The mum-of-two is sponsored by outdoors brand The North Face, and is known for being the first ever person to ski down Mount Lhotse, the world's fourth-highest peak, in 2018.

After reaching the summit, Nelson and Morrison were skiing down Manaslu when organisers said she fell down a 2,000 foot (600m) crevasse. A helicopter was sent to try and find Nelson, but her location has not yet been confirmed.

Jiban Ghimire, managing director of the guiding company that was working with Nelson and Morrison, Shangri-La Nepal Trek, told Outside his crew had received a call at midday to say Nelson had fallen.

Ghimire explained: "The duo reached the true summit of Manaslu at 11.30am local time. And about 15 minute later I got a call from our staff at Base Camp that her ski blade skidded off and [she] fell off the other side of the peak."

The North Face has said it is 'in touch with Hilaree's family' in the wake of her disappearance.

Describing the climber as a 'beloved member of the North Face family', the brand added that it is 'supporting search and rescue efforts in every way' it can.

Nelson's disappearance came on the same day that several climbers were swept away in an avalanche at a lower elevation on Mount Manaslu.

One Nepali guide was killed in the incident, but all of the climbers were accounted for and the survivors were taken to hospital to be treated for their injuries.

One of the survivors said there were just over a dozen people caught up in the avalanche, and commented: "I am not sure about the whereabouts of the missing climber but her husband was with us during the search today. We made two helicopter rescue attempts, but we were unable to find her."

Nelson is described on the North Face website as 'the most prolific ski mountaineer of her generation' with a career spanning two decades.

She is credited as being the first female to 'link two 8000m peaks, Everest and Lhotse, in one 24 hour push'.

The mother was named captain of The North Face Athlete Team in 2018, and has been praised for being a 'role model to other women adventurers'.

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