The very sad news of 2022 was that Hillary Nelson passed away at the age of 49. A top ski mountaineer, Hillary achieved many firsts, including first ski descent from the summit of Lhotse (next to Mount Everest), first ski descent, and many others. Mount Papsura in India (and known as the ‘Evil Peak’ due to its extreme danger) and the first person to ski the Five Sacred Peaks of Mongolia.
Hilaree helped break down the “female first” barrier. When people talk about her, she never said she was one of the greatest female climbers in the world. They said she was one of the world’s greatest climbers.In 2018, she was named captain of the North Face Global Athlete Team, succeeding Conrad Anker, who has climbed Everest three times and twice without oxygen. took office, cementing his status as one of the greatest adventurers of all time.
Unfortunately, after reaching the summit of Mount Manaslu in Nepal, the eighth highest mountain in the world, Hillary, along with her life and skiing partner Jim Morrison, was caught in an avalanche and died.
I met Hilaree while working with Protect Our Winters (POW), a non-profit advocacy group working to educate and act on outdoor communities and industries about climate change. Founded by world-class snowboarder and businessman Jeremy Jones, POW brings athletes such as Hillary to the world they see with students, his community, his leaders in business, the U.S. Congress, and more. talk about the changes that are happening. As Hillary wrote, “Climate change is real.
In 2018, they appeared together at two World Economic Forum events in Davos, Switzerland. One was a panel discussion. Another one of hers features Hillary talking about her life’s work and her passions, and is surprisingly honest about her mistakes, including her very costly ones. We were talking. She described her expedition in 2014, which attempted her first ascent of Kakabo, Myanmar. Hillary spoke about how her team “collapsed,” how she struggled to finish her road trip, and how her experience nearly broke her.
The World Economic Forum is home to prominent, influential and eloquent people. Our panelists included former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, and the audience is often fidgety. There is a lot to take in. But when Hilaree spoke, her listeners went wild. After her event, people flocked to her, eager to hear more, ask questions, or just say hello. When we dined later, a 14-year-old girl came to our table and asked Hillary for an autograph.
Since then, I’ve been thinking a lot about what makes Hillary so inspiring, and what inspires great scientists. A great scientist may not risk his life like Hillary did, but he also evokes awe, admiration, and autograph requests. Athletes and scientists have something in common. It is the ability to do things that others cannot. In theory, this can make us feel small and unimportant, but that’s not what I’ve observed. reminds me of
Great athletes and great scientists alike are endowed with outstanding talent, but they also work hard and push themselves in extraordinary ways. Being around them makes me think that if I push myself, even unconsciously, I can do more than I thought I could. Most of us never climb Everest, much less ski it.
