He knows the mountains like no other – and is worried about our biathlon heroine.
On Monday, Laura Dahlmeier (31) suffered an accident while mountaineering in Pakistan. She was hit by rockfall on Laila Peak (6,069 meters) at an altitude of approximately 5,700 meters. So far, no help has been available, and the search was called off on Tuesday due to darkness.
Reinhold Messner (80), who in 1978, together with Peter Habeler (83), was the first person to climb Mount Everest without artificial oxygen, knows the region well.
He told BILD:"I have Laila Peak in mind. I've walked past it, but haven't climbed it. It's a fascinating peak, even though it's only a small, leaning peak. It's one of the most beautiful mountains in the world. It's very, very steep and difficult. But even so, Ms. Dahlmeier—as far as I know her biography—would easily have the ability to climb this mountain, even via a difficult route."
And further: "The Karakoram is a mountain range located on the right bank of the Indus River. The Indus separates the Himalayas from the Karakoram. Essentially, this is just a division decided upon by geographers. The whole thing is a mountain range, if you will. These mountains are fascinating because they are high and because they extend into the so-called death zone. Although Mount Leila is too small for that. But besides the large, famous mountains like K2 and Nanga Parbat, there are smaller, lower peaks that are more beautiful in their aura. Some of them are more difficult to climb because they are steeper and more dangerous."
What caused the rockfall that led to Dahlmeier's accident?
Messner: "Due to global warming, we have more rockfall than before. But I can't comment on the accident itself because we don't yet know what happened. We can only hope that the helicopter flies or that climbers manage to reach Dahlmeier."
