Body of missing US ski mountaineer Hilaree Nelson found in Nepal

The body of top US ski mountaineer Hilaree Nelson was retrieved from the Himalayas by a search and rescue team on Wednesday, two days after she disappeared on the slopes of Manaslu in Nepal.

Nelson slipped and went missing while skiing down the world's eighth-highest mountain after a successful summit with her partner Jim Morrison on Monday.

Morrison led the search operations and found her body on Wednesday morning, after landing at an elevation of around 6,700 metres on a helicopter.

A post shared by Jim Morrison (@jimwmorrison)

"I skied first and after a few turns Hilaree followed and started a small avalanche," Morrison posted on his Instagram, describing what happened after their summit. "She was swept off her feet and carried down a narrow snow slope down the south side (opposite from climbing route) of the mountain."

Morrison was able to reach base camp safely, but bad weather hampered the search operation on Monday and Tuesday.

"I'm in Kathmandu with her and her spirit. My loss is indescribable and I am focused on her children and their steps forward. @hilareenelson is the most inspiring person in life and now her energy will guide our collective souls," he wrote.

"I'm devastated by the loss of her."

Nelson, 49, is described by her sponsor, The North Face, as "the most prolific ski mountaineer of her generation".

A decade ago, she became the first woman to summit both the highest mountain in the world, Everest, and the adjacent Lhotse peak within 24 hours.

She returned to Lhotse and made the first ski descent of the mountain in 2018, which earned her the National Geographic Adventurer of the Year award.

In an Instagram post last week, Nelson said her latest climb had been deeply challenging because of "incessant