"Your tent remains empty now" Extreme climber Thomas Huber rushed to Dahlmeier's rescue - he was too late
A rockfall hits Laura Dahlmeier at an altitude of 5700 meters. Thomas Huber - a friend of the Bavarian - comes to the rescue. But the professional mountaineer can't help.
31.07.2025, 21:01
01.08.2025, 10:06
dpa
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- Mountaineer Thomas Huber was part of the team that tried to rescue Laura Dahlmeier.
- However, the rescue mission for the 31-year-old double Olympic champion with Huber was no longer successful.
- On Instagram, the mountaineer sent an emotional farewell message full of pain and warm words.
According to her good friend Thomas Huber, the fateful Laila Peak was not a normal mountain for former biathlete Laura Dahlmeier, who died in a climbing accident in Pakistan. "I know from Laura that she always raved about one mountain - and that's Laila Peak," said professional mountaineer Huber in an interview published by Bayerischer Rundfunk: "We were in contact a lot beforehand because they needed experience of what the mountains look like there. And I told them a lot of things, including which mountains might be suitable for them."
Huber wanted to help Dahlmeier immediately
Dahlmeier was in the high mountains with her rope partner Marina Krauss. The two experienced mountaineers broke off the ascent before reaching the summit at 5,700 meters. On the descent, Laura Dahlmeier was hit by the falling rock. Dahlmeier was pronounced dead by her management on Wednesday after the accident in the Karakoram mountains, Krauss remained unharmed and brought herself to safety.
Huber (58) did not hesitate for a second to take part in the rescue operation. He had received the message in a messenger while on his own climbing tour nearby: "Laura is seriously injured, probably in the head - and I immediately decided to get involved in this story," said Huber: "I immediately offered to pack my rucksack and wait until the helicopter picked me up from base camp."
However, the rescue mission for the 31-year-old double Olympic champion with Huber was no longer successful. Previous rescue attempts had already failed due to adverse weather conditions.
"When she goes into the mountains, she was beaming"
"I also got messages from Laura that they had the best time on the mountain and I know Laura. She's a mountain girl," Huber reported on the days before the accident and recalled Dahlmeier: "When she goes into the mountains, she shone, and it's her life to connect with the mountains."
Huber even received a message from the seven-time biathlon world champion on the way up: "You're at camp one on Leila Peak. Then I said: "Wow, Laura is right on her mountain now!" I was so happy for her." He had not received any information before the accident that there had been any problems and had been taken by surprise.
