Laura Dahlmeier is dead
She was always aware of the great danger
Updated on July 30th, 2025 – 7:37 p.m.Reading time: 4 min.
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On Monday, Laura Dahlmeier died in mountaineering in Pakistan. How dangerous her hobby is, she made it clear last year.
Laura Dahlmeier was fatally accidental when climbing in Pakistan. Germany’s ex-biathlon star was hit by a rockfall at the Laila Peak in the Karakorum Mountains on Monday. On Tuesday, her management announced that Dahlmeier was at least seriously injured. During a helicopter crossing at the scene of the accident, no signs of life were found, it said.
A day later the sad certainty: Dahlmeier did not survive the tragic accident at around 5,700 meters. Her management confirmed the death of the former world-class athlete on Wednesday. The rescue operation for the salvage was unsuccessful and was therefore discontinued.
The 31-year-old had gained great fame in Germany due to her extremely successful biathlon career. In 2019 she ended it surprisingly early at the age of 25. In a ZDF documentary about Dahlmeier, which was released in December 2024, she justified this step with the desire to be able to devote herself to her mountain passion. Accordingly, the film accompanied her when climbing AMA Dablam, a more than 6,800 meter high mountain tip in the Khumbu region of the Himalayas.
“I was there a few years ago. I’ve been to Nepal, I tried it before, I got a lot,” said Dahlmeier at the beginning of the documentary with a view of the mountain. At that time, however, the conditions were not ideal. “I always thought I would like to come back again and try it again,” she said. And further: “To be at the top, that would be a dream.”
The dream became a reality. The two -time Olympic champion even set a record. In 8 hours and 24 minutes, she climbed the top of the AMA Dablam from the base camp – a new best time. Afterwards she spoke on Instagram of an “incredible day” and emphasized: “For me it was not about setting best stamps, but about enjoying a day in the mountains and doing what I love most – to move, climb, watch and feel alive with every step.”
Dahlmeier was considered an extremely experienced mountaineer. She has been a state-certified mountain and ski guide since 2023. She climbed throughout the world during his lifetime, including the Alpamayo (5,947 meters) in Peru 2017, the Damawand (5,610 meters) in Iran 2019, the Mont Blanc (4,805 meters) between Italy and France 2019 and the PIK Freiheit (7,105 meters) in Tajikistan 2023. In addition, Dahlmeier spent a night on El Capitan in the US American Yosemite National Park-on a portalede, a kind of field bed in the middle of the Salathé climbing wall several hundred meters high.
The fact that she had chosen a very dangerous hobby was apparently clear. “I am aware that there is an alpine and that it also carries a risk of being on the go,” she said in the ZDF documentary about mountaineering. You have to climb carefully and check which places are fixed on the mountain and which are not.
The film also became clear how hotmeters had already become for Dahlmeier in a situation. They show the recordings during a mountain rescue exercise. Also present: her father Andreas, head of the Garmisch-Partenkirchen mountain rescue service.
He wanted to convey the dangers of mountaineering to his daughter early on, says Andreas Dahlmeier. In the meantime, however, it has become as strong as in sport. “You often have respect, but she always doesn’t tell me much where it goes.” This usually only happens afterwards. “This means that I’m reassured. But the danger is always there, it is everywhere.”