“These mountains are not a playground”
Tour organizer expresses himself after Dahlmeier’s death
04.08.2025 – 3:42 p.m.Reading time: 2 min.
The Laila Peak rises to over 6000 meters. An organizer of mountain expeditions in the region has now talked about the summit-and about the charm that he is.
Laura Dahlmeier’s death moves many – not only in Germany. The former biathlon Olympic champion died in the secluded high mountain region of Gilgit-Baltistan. The area in the Karakorum Mountains, located between Pakistan and India, is known for its extreme seclusion, impressive nature-and its danger potential.
Muhammad Iqbal knows this world well. The 40-year-old has been organizing expeditions such as K2, Broad Peak or Laila Peak since 2008 with his company “Shipton Trek & Tours”. He also got the group around Dahlmeier on the way. It was the first time that an accident happened in one of his own groups, Iqbal said in an interview with the “Bild”. “These mountains are not a playground. Anyone who comes here knows about the risk.”
Despite these conditions, many mountain enthusiasts are drawn to the region every year. “You come from Germany, the USA, France, from the whole world because you are looking for something you can’t find elsewhere: absolute wilderness,” said Iqbal.
He can understand why people take these risks on themselves – even if he is not a climber himself: “These summits are more technically difficult than those in Nepal or Europe. This does not count here, but the will.”
And: “A trekking permit is usually enough for tours of up to 6500 meters,” explains IQBAL. If you want to get beyond this, you need a special approval for mountaineering. The Laila Peak, on which the group was on the road, is around 6096 meters.
If an emergency occurs, a flight service provider will be contacted, the army can then initiate rescue or recovery actions by helicopter. Nevertheless, IQBAL emphasizes: “Mountain victims cannot always be brought back.” If it is technically possible and the family wishes, a salvage will be organized. “But often the dead stay in the mountains forever.”