Islamabad/Munich, July 31, (dpa/GNA) – Twice Olympic biathlon champion Laura Dahlmeier of Germany has died in a mountaineering accident in Pakistan, her
management and local officials said on Wednesday. She was 31.
Dahlmeier was swept away in a rockfall close to the summit of the 6,069 metres Laila Peak in the Karakoram mountain range on Monday.
“Laura Dahlmeier died in a mountain accident on 28 July on Laila Peak in Pakistan’s Karakoram Mountains at 5700 m due to falling rocks,” a management
statement Wednesday said.
“The rescue operation to recover the victim was unsuccessful and was discontinued on the evening of 29 July,” it said, adding that “it can be assumed
that Laura Dahlmeier died immediately.”
The statement added: “It was Laura Dahlmeier’s expressed and written wish that in a case like this, nobody should risk their life to rescue her. It was
her wish to leave her body behind at the mountain in a case like this. This is also in line with the wishes of her relatives, who also requested that
Laura’s last wishes be honoured.”
The spokesman of the local government in Gilgit-Baltistan region, Faizullah Faraq, said the rescue team that went up to find her has seen the dead body.
Arrangements were being made to bring her body down to the base camp.
Her climbing partner Marina Eva was rescued and brought to the base camp by a group of climbers and local high-altitude porters on Tuesday, tour
operator Mohamed Iqbal told dpa.
Dahlmeier won two Olympic golds, seven world titles and the overall World Cup title in a glittering biathlon career she ended in 2019. She was also
German Sportswoman of the Year in 2017.
International Olympic Committee president Kirsty Coventry said on X that “the news about the passing of two-time Olympic biathlon champion Laura
Dahlmeier in a terrible mountaineering accident is deeply shocking for all of us in the Olympic Movement.
“She will be remembered forever. Our thoughts are with her family and friends at this very difficult time,” Coventry said.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Instagram he had hoped that Dahlmeier could be found alive and rescued.
“Laura Dahlmeier was an ambassador for our country in the world, a role model for peaceful, cheerful and fair coexistence across borders. That’s how I
will remember her, that’s how many people in our country will remember her,” Steinmeier said.
The German Ski Federation, which oversees biathlon, said it was “shocked and deeply saddened” by Dahlmeier’s death as named her “one of Germany’s must
successful winter sport athletes” and “a true role model.
“In Laura, the German Ski Federation has not only lost an outstanding athlete, but also a very special person. Her legacy will reach far beyond sport.
We will honour her memory,” the DSV said.
Dahlmeier was a state-certified mountain and ski guide, and an active member of Germany’s mountain rescue organization. She was considered an
experienced and risk-aware mountaineer who has climbed on many continents.
She knew about the risks, having survived an accident at Germany’s highest peak, the Zugspitze, in 2014. Her former partner died in an avalanche in
Patagonia on 2022.
“She lost her life in her beloved mountains,” Coventry said.
Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder said: “The mountains were her second home. It is all the more tragic that she lost her life while pursuing her
favourite pastime.”
The management statement said: “We say goodbye to a great person. Laura enriched our lives and the lives of many with her warm and straightforward
manner. She showed us that it is worth standing up for your dreams and goals and always staying true to yourself.
“We are deeply grateful, dear Laura, that we were able to share in your life. Our shared memories give us strength and courage to continue on our path.”
Bad weather did not allow the use of a helicopter but a ground rescue continued with four mountaineers and two porters on Wednesday. The mountaineers
included Dahlmeier’s compatriot Thomas Huber, a friend of hers and very experienced climber.
But the statement said that “the recovery of the body is associated with too high a risk for the rescue teams in the current difficult conditions with
falling rocks and a change in the weather on Laila Peak and is not feasible.”
Dahlmeier had been in the Karakoram region since the end of June with friends and had already climbed the 6,287m Great Trango Tower on July 8.
Earlier this month, a tourist from the Czech Republic died after falling into a ravine at the Nanga Parbat, known to climbers as “Killer Mountain,”
being one of the most dangerous peaks to climb in the world.
Pakistan’s northern region is home to several stunning peaks and attracts hundreds of mountaineers from all over the world including from Europe every
year.
Accidents, sometimes deadly, are common during these expeditions especially on K2 and Nanga Parbat, both 8,000 meters peaks.
Bavarian Dahlmeier had been mountaineering, as well as trail and mountain running, for years, especially since ending her glittering biathlon career at
age 25 six years ago.
Dahlmeier has two golds and a bronze from Winter Olympics, a world championship tally of seven gold, three silver and five bronze, one overall World Cup
title and 20 World Cup race wins.
She remained widely popular after ending her career because she had no more goals in the sport. She worked as a TV pundit covering biathlon in recent
years.
GNA