They turned back short of the summit because of safety concerns, but their timing was unlucky. Dahlmeier was rappelling when a big rock fatally struck her.

A government spokesman in Pakistan says that German biathlon champion Laura Dahlmeier has died on a mountain in northern Pakistan.

Laura Dahlmeier, a trailblazer in biathlon and one of Germany's most decorated winter athletes, has died at 31 after a rockfall struck her during a climbing expedition on Laila Peak in northern Pakistan's Karakoram range. Her death has caused widespread shock and sorrow in the global sports and mountaineering communities.