“We would have liked to bring her home”
Dahlmeier’s father says: Rescue is no longer possible
Updated 10/16/2025 – 3:43 p.mReading time: 3 minutes
After Laura Dahlmeier’s tragic death in the Karakoram Mountains, her father has now confirmed that rescue is no longer possible. A final rescue mission failed.
Now there is certainty in this matter: As Andreas Dahlmeier, the father of Laura Dahlmeier, who had a fatal accident in the Karakoram Mountains in July, confirmed, it is no longer possible to recover the ex-biathlete’s body. It was with a heavy heart that the family came to terms with the fact that the former Olympic champion would have to stay at Laila Peak.
“We would have liked to bring Laura home. But it was not possible to get her. It was too dangerous after the accident,” Andreas Dahlmeier told “Spiegel” and reported on a last failed rescue attempt by the experienced mountaineer Thomas Huber: “When Thomas went to Laila Peak again, she could no longer be found. So Laura remains on the mountain. There is no chance of rescuing her.”
On July 28, Dahlmeier was fatally hit by a rockfall while descending the 6,000-meter-high mountain in northern Pakistan. At that time it was too dangerous to go to the scene of the accident.
In September, another attempt was made at the family’s request. Huber traveled to the mountain together with the American Tad McCrea. Equipped with binoculars and a drone, they searched the area where Dahlmeier had had an accident.
video | Laura Dahlmeier is dead – photos show her risky climbing trips
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But nothing could be found at the familiar location. Huber explained in an interview with “Spiegel”: “I knew exactly where we had to go to get the best view. We had a spotting scope with 30x magnification with which we searched the area, as well as a drone. If we had found Laura, we would have climbed into the wall and rescued her. As expected, Laura was no longer at the scene of the accident.”
Huber had already suspected that he would not be able to find Dahlmeier’s body. “As a rule, an ice hourglass melts after a few days under stress,” he said. An ice hourglass is a securing point in the ice that is particularly suitable for abseiling. Dahlmeier used such a safety point just before she was hit by the falling stones. “With this warm summer in Pakistan, it was obvious that Laura’s body would continue to fall.”