She Summited One of the World's Five Highest Peaks. She Died in Her Partner's Arms on the Way Down.
Utah climber Shelley Johannesen reached the 8,485-metre summit of Makalu on 9 May 2026. Hours later, a wet-slab avalanche swept her rope team off the mountain — and her story is reshaping how climbers think about descent risk on the world's highest peaks.
Getting to the top of an 8,000-metre mountain is only half the climb. Statistically, it's the descent that kills — and nowhere was that clearer this spring than on Mount Makalu, the fifth-highest mountain on Earth.
Key facts
- Shelley Johannesen, 53, of Francis, Utah, summited Makalu (8,485m) at roughly 10:30am on 9 May 2026
- During the descent, a wet-slab avalanche broke loose in winds up to 60mph, sweeping her rope team off the mountain
- She died of internal injuries with her partner, Dave Ashley, by her side, as a storm delayed rescue helicopters
- Guide Tawa Sherpa was seriously injured; he and Ashley were later evacuated to Kathmandu by helicopter
Johannesen and Ashley co-owned DASH Adventures, a Kamas, Utah-based trekking and climbing outfitter, and had summited together as a team with Sherpa guides Tawa Sherpa and Phurba Sonam Sherpa. She'd come to serious mountaineering relatively late in life — after raising three children, she found ultrarunning and outdoor endurance sport in her 40s and 50s, and Makalu was among the biggest objectives of that second chapter.
The summit push went as planned. It was the way down that turned. As the group descended, snow drifts built up to thigh-deep in places — unusually deep for that elevation, according to reporting on the climb — and a wet-slab avalanche sheared loose just as Johannesen and Tawa Sherpa clipped onto a fresh section of fixed rope. The slide swept them off their line. Ashley found Johannesen, held her, and tried to keep her warm for hours in the storm while awaiting a rescue that couldn't reach them until conditions cleared. She died from her injuries before help arrived.
| Peak | Elevation |
|---|---|
| Everest | 8,849m |
| K2 | 8,611m |
| Kangchenjunga | 8,586m |
| Lhotse | 8,516m |
| Makalu | 8,485m |
Johannesen's death was one of seven fatalities across Nepal's 8,000-metre peaks this spring season — five on Everest, and two on the Makalu massif, including hers and that of Czech climber David Roubiček on Makalu II. Set against a record season that saw close to 1,200 permits issued across 30 peaks and 274 climbers summit Everest in a single day, it's a stark reminder that the descent — not the summit — is where the real risk concentrates, even for experienced mountaineers on a mountain far less crowded than Everest.
What this means for trekkers
What this means for you
Makalu's summit ridge is technical, remote mountaineering terrain — a different world from the Makalu Base Camp trek, which stops well short of any avalanche-exposed climbing route and is walked by hundreds of trekkers a year with no rope or crampons required. If Johannesen's story pulls you toward high-altitude climbing rather than trekking, start on a genuine trekking peak like Island Peak or Mera Peak with certified guides who build in real weather buffers — descent-window discipline, not summit ambition, is what keeps climbers alive on 8,000-metre terrain.
Source: CBS News.
Cover photo: Namal Siriwardana via Pexels (Pexels License).
来源： CBS News
计划徒步？
我们负责许可证、后勤与向导
NMA 认证的本地向导，价格透明，自 1998 年以来 5,000+ 次徒步。告诉我们你的日期，其余的交给我们。
更多「Safety & Advisories」
Safety & Advisories
An American Tried to Sneak Into Nepal With No Passport. Here's What Actually Happens.
A 36-year-old Californian claiming to be an ex-US Special Forces soldier was chased down by villagers and border guards trying to slip into Nepal with no passport, no visa and someone else's ID — a viral moment that exposes exactly how Nepal's real entry rules work.
Safety & Advisories
Will You Get Sick on the Everest Trek? The Honest Truth (and 6 Rules to Avoid It)
The thing that quietly ends the most Everest treks early isn't altitude — it's a stomach bug. Here's why it happens, and the six simple rules that keep you off the toilet and on the trail.
Safety & Advisories
Will You Die on the Everest Base Camp Trek? The Honest Answer (2026)
Fewer than 0.5% of trekkers die on the way to Everest Base Camp — and it's almost never what you think. Here's the real risk, and how to make it nearly zero.