Why lack of diversity in QB, OL coaches matters in NFL
USA TODAY Sports investigates where diversity is lacking in NFL coaching staff across the league, and why it matters.
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Renowned U.S. extreme skier Hilaree Nelson died this week when she was skiing down Nepal’s Mount Manaslu, the eighth-highest mountain in the world, and was swept away in an avalanche. She fell Monday when she was skiing with her partner, Jim Morrison, and her body was recovered Wednesday. She was 49.
The climbing community mourned her passing as they remembered her as a friend, mentor and trailblazer. Several on social media shared her quote, “It’s truly a necessity to have a passion as a compass in life.”
Nelson was the first woman to summit two 8,000-meter peaks in a 24-hour span and she and Morrison were the first people to ski down the summit of Lhotse Couloir, the fourth-highest mountain in the world.
Morrison expressed his grief at losing Nelson in an Instagram tribute. He called her “my lover, my best friend, and my mountain partner.”
“She has been the beacon of light in my life day in and day out,” he said while describing the events of the day she went missing and how he was with the search team who found her body. “… I skied first and after a few turns Hilaree followed and started a small avalanche. She was swept off her feet and carried down a narrow snow slope. … I did everything I could to locate her but was unable to go down the face as I hoped to find her alive and live my life with her.
“… 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. … I’m devastated by the loss of her.”
Five-time national champion rock climber and skier Emily Harrington penned a heartfelt message on Instagram, acknowledging Nelson’s role as a woman who paved the way for athletes like herself and supporting Harrington through her pregnancy. Nelson leaves behind two children.
“I write this to tell you that beyond this tragedy, Hilaree was a force to be remembered not for this accident or even the physical mountains she climbed and so expertly skied down, but for unapologetically paving the way for women in this space to be everything they want to be,” she wrote. “She broke ground and shattered expectations with a unique combination of grace and grit only a true leader possesses.”
U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame skier Lindsey Vonn honored Nelson with a post on Twitter.
“RIP Hilaree,” she wrote with emojis of praying hands and a broken heart for the caption of a photo of the athlete smiling.
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The North Face, which sponsored Nelson since 1999, also paid tribute to the groundbreaking athlete on Instagram.
“For us, Hilaree transcended the idea of an athlete, a sport or a community,” the post said. “She helped lead our family at The North Face, by being a teammate and team captain who changed our perspective of the outdoors by showing us exactly what it can mean. Her light will forever be an offering, and her optimism in the face of adversity, will forever be our guide.”
