Pakistan: German Olympic star Dahlmeier confirmed dead – DW – 07/30/2025
Former German Olympic biathlon champion Laura Dahlmeier was confirmed dead on Wednesday, two days after being caught in a rockslide high up in the mountains of northern Pakistan.
The 31-year-old was on Monday swept away by falling rocks at an altitude of around 5,700 meters (18,700 feet) while ascending the 6,069-meter high Laila Peak.
Dahlmeier's climbing partner, Marina Eva, sent a distress signal and was on Tuesday able to descend to base camp with the help of rescuers. But Dahlmeier remained injured and inaccessible on the mountain.
Adverse weather conditions hampered rescue attempts, with Pakistani military helicopters remaining grounded due to low visibility, rain, and strong winds.
Finally, on Wednesday morning, two teams comprising four international climbers — three Americans and one German — and two local high-altitude porters had set out on the rescue mission.
Speaking to DW, Karar Haideri, the Vice-President of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, estimated that Dahlmeier's chances of survival were "50-50" but did emphasize that injured climbers have been known to survive for days with oxygen.
But Dahlmeier's management confirmed to the German dpa news agency later on Wednesday that the athlete had indeed passed away.
With two Olympic gold medals at the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and a total of seven world championship titles, Dahlmeier was one of the most successful German biathletes of this century.
She was named German athlete of the year in 2017 but surprisingly ended her career in May 2019 at the age of just 25 in order to become a mountain-climbing and ski instructor in her home town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen in the Bavarian Alps.
Dahlmeier had taken part in several challenging mountaineering expeditions, including up the 7,100-meter Korzhenevskaya Peak in Tajikistan in 2023, plus an ascent of the 6,800-meter Ama Dablam in Nepal in 2024 in a women's record time.
She had been in northern Pakistan with friends since the end of June and had successfully climbed the 6,200-meter Great Trango Tower on July 8, her management confirmed, describing Dahlmeier as an "experienced and risk-aware climber."
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