The climbing partner of Laura Dalmeier has opened up on having to make a heartbreaking decision after the Olympic hero was caught in a rockfall before dying in Pakistan. The 31-year-old German was on an expedition in the Karakoram mountains on Monday when tragedy struck.
She was climbing alongside Marina Eva Krauss when the incident occurred. The pair were about 5,700 metres above sea level at the time, and Krauss called the emergency services. However, adverse weather conditions hindered the rescue mission, and a team of expert climbers was unable to reach Dalmeier in time.
Karauss has now revealed she faced an agonising choice after Dalmeier was struck, over whether to stay with her friend or leave her to go and find help. She also described the harrowing moment when she called out to Dalmeier but received no response.
“I saw Laura being hit by a huge rock and then being thrown against the wall,” she said in a press conference. “And from that moment on, she didn’t move again. It was impossible for me to get there safely.
“It was clear to me the only way to help her was to call a helicopter. She didn’t move, she didn’t show any signs of movement. I called out to her, but there was no response. She only had a chance if help arrived immediately.”
Krauss also admitted that Dalmeier would still be alive had they set off on Laila Peak earlier. Explaining they were on the descent when the rockfall occurred, she added: “If we had been there half an hour earlier, we would’ve made it down safely.”
Biathlete Dahlmeier, also an experienced mountaineer, won two gold medals and one bronze at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang in 2018. In doing so, she became the first woman to win the sprint and pursuit events at the same Games.
She had previously represented her country in Sochi four years earlier. She also won 15 medals, including seven golds, across five World Championships before retiring from competition in May 2019.