American Climber Shelley Johannesen Dies in Avalanche on Mount Makalu

An American climber died in an avalanche on Mount Makalu, officials said Tuesday, as deaths pile up early in Nepal's spring climbing season.

Shelley Johannesen, 53, was killed Monday while descending from the summit of the world's fifth-highest peak, expedition organizers said.

David Roubinek, a 38-year-old Czech climber, and three Nepali guides have also died in the Himalayas this season.

Johannesen, co-founder of U.S.-based outfitter Dash Adventures, reached the 27,838-foot summit before an avalanche struck her at around 23,600 feet on the way down.

"She was hit by an avalanche just below Camp 3," Nabin Trital, managing director of Expedition Himalaya, told AFP.

She climbed with a three-member team that included her partner, David Ashley, and two Nepali guides.

Ashley said he was "heartbroken" by her death.

"Shelley was not just an incredible person, but lived her life with no limits and chased her passions around the world," he said in a social media post Tuesday.

Her body was flown to a Kathmandu hospital Monday.

Makalu, a steep pyramid-shaped mountain southeast of Mount Everest, poses technical challenges due to extreme weather and its remote location.

Nepal, home to eight of the world's 10 highest peaks, draws hundreds of climbers each year in spring and autumn.

Authorities issued more than 1,000 permits this season for 30 mountains, including 72 for Makalu and a record 492 for Everest.