Body of famed U.S. extreme skier from Telluride recovered in Nepal

Hilaree Nelson of Telluride, left, and James Morrison of Tahoe, California, raise their fists as the pair arrived in Kathmandu, Nepal, Oct. 4, 2018. Rescuers in a helicopter were searching on the world's eighth-highest mountain Tuesday for Nelson, the famed U.S. ski mountaineer a day after she fell off the mountain near the peak. Nelson, 49, was skiing down from the 26,775-foot summit with her partner Jim Morrison when she fell off the mountain, according to Jiban Ghimire of the Kathmandu-based Shangri-La Nepal Trek that organized and outfitted the expedition. (Niranjan Shrestha/Associated Press file)

×

Hilaree Nelson of Telluride, left, and James Morrison of Tahoe, California, raise their fists as the pair arrived in Kathmandu, Nepal, Oct. 4, 2018. Rescuers in a helicopter were searching on the world's eighth-highest mountain Tuesday for Nelson, the famed U.S. ski mountaineer a day after she fell off the mountain near the peak. Nelson, 49, was skiing down from the 26,775-foot summit with her partner Jim Morrison when she fell off the mountain, according to Jiban Ghimire of the Kathmandu-based Shangri-La Nepal Trek that organized and outfitted the expedition. (Niranjan Shrestha/Associated Press file)

KATHMANDU, Nepal – The body of a famed U.S. extreme skier who went missing this week after falling from the world’s eighth-highest mountain was recovered Wednesday and transported to Nepal's capital.

Hilaree Nelson, 49, was skiing down from the 26,775-foot summit of Mount Manaslu with her partner, Jim Morrison, on Monday when she fell off the mountain.

Her body was flown by helicopter to a hospital in Kathmandu where doctors planned to perform an autopsy.

Rescuers searching by helicopter located Nelson's body on Wednesday after failing to find her on Monday and Tuesday, when bad weather hampered their search.

Also on Monday, an avalanche at a lower elevation on the same mountain killed a Nepalese man and injured several other climbers.

Hundreds of climbers and their local guides were attempting to reach the summit during Nepal’s autumn climbing season.

Nelson, from Telluride, and Morrison, from Tahoe, California, are extreme skiers who reached the summit of Mount Lhotse, the world’s fourth highest mountain, in 2018.

Nepal’s government has issued permits to 504 climbers during the autumn season. Most are climbing Mount Manaslu.