German Alpinist Laura Dahlmeier Dies From Rockfall in Pakistan

A famed German biathlete, Laura Dahlmeier, perished on Monday while scaling a remote mountain in Pakistan. 

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Gold medalist Laura Dahlmeier of Germany celebrates during the victory ceremony for the Women's Biathlon 7.5km Sprint on day one of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Alpensia Biathlon Centre on February 10, 2018 in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea (Photo: Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)

While climbing the remote Laila Peak in Pakistan, famed German Olympic biathlete Laura Dahlmeier died on Monday, July 28, while rappelling. Dahlmeier was descending Laila Peak (20,000 feet), a tooth-like summit in the remote Hushe Valley with her climbing partner, Marina Krauss, also from Germany. At an elevation of around 18,700 feet, the women were struck by rockfall.

According to a statement from Dahlmeier’s team, published on her Instagram, the pair were rappelling when their rope dislodged rocks that hit Dahlmeier. Krauss remained unharmed, and immediately sent out an SOS with her satellite messenger. She then tried, for several hours, to reach her fallen partner, but the difficulty of the terrain and the risk of further rockfall stymied her attempts. As night fell, Krauss descended to her base camp.

Rain, wind, and poor visibility initially impeded efforts to rescue Dahlmeier by helicopter. By Tuesday morning, rescuers in search helicopters had managed to spot the fallen climber, but they saw no signs of life and could not descend to the ground due to poor weather. A ground team reached Dahlmeier’s body later that day, and confirmed that she was deceased. “Based on the severity of her injuries, her death is “presumed to have occurred immediately.” It appears that, due to the dangerous nature of the terrain around the accident site, no body recovery will take place. According to Dahlmeier’s team, it was her “express and written will that in a case like this, no one should risk their life to rescue her. Her wish was to leave her body on the mountain.”

In a subsequent memorial post on her Instagram, her team said that, “Laura enriched the lives of many, including our own, with her warm and straightforward manner. She showed us that it’s worth standing up for your dreams and goals and always staying true to yourself. We are deeply grateful, dear Laura, that we were allowed to share our lives with you. Our shared moments and memories give us the strength and courage to continue on our path.”

Laura Dahlmeier was 31 years old. She held two gold medals from the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. She was the first female biathlete in history to win both the sprint and pursuit events at the same Games. She also won 15 World Championships medals over the course of her career, including seven golds. She won five of these gold medals at a single Championships, in 2017, becoming the first women to ever do so.

Dahlmeier retired from the biathlon in 2019, at age 25, to devote herself to alpine climbing full-time. Among other climbing accolades, she holds the female fastest known time on Nepal’s Ama Dablam. She scaled and descended the 22,349-foot mountain in just 12 hours. Since 2023, Dahlmeier had worked as a mountain and ski guide, and was a volunteer for the mountain rescue team in her hometown of Garmisch-Partenkirchen.