FRENCH PRO SKIER, 29, DIES IN PATAGONIAN AVALANCHE AFTER BEING SWEPT 1,300 FEET DOWN MOUNTAIN

French professional skier Juliette Willmann, 29, has died after an avalanche swept her and her husband hundreds of metres down a mountain in Argentina’s Patagonia.

The tragedy happened on Tuesday, September 29, on Cerro Crestón near El Chaltén, a remote area of the Patagonian Andes.

Willmann was ski touring with her husband, Pierre-Idris Mehdi, 30, when a slab of snow broke loose at around 12:30 p.m.

The avalanche swept the couple approximately 400 metres — around 1,300 feet — down the slope.

Willmann was buried beneath several feet of snow.

RESCUERS RUSHED INTO THE MOUNTAINS

A distress alert was raised shortly after the avalanche, prompting a major search operation involving mountain-rescue specialists, National Parks personnel, police, civil defence workers and medical teams.

Rescuers reached the area at around 5 p.m. after travelling through difficult mountain terrain.

Mehdi was found alive and was evacuated for medical treatment.

Willmann, however, was found without vital signs. Attempts to revive her were unsuccessful.

Argentina’s Ministry of Security said the avalanche was caused by a slab failure in the snowpack. The exact circumstances surrounding the incident remain under investigation.

A SKIER WHO GREW UP IN THE MOUNTAINS

Willmann was born in Marseille, France, and grew up in the French Alps in a family deeply connected to skiing.

She began skiing when she was just two years old.

Her father was a ski coach, her mother was a ski instructor, and her older sister competed for the French alpine skiing team.

Willmann first competed in alpine skiing before moving into freeride and ski-mountaineering.

She competed on the Freeride World Tour from 2019 to 2022, later developing a reputation for tackling demanding mountain environments around the world.

Her sporting interests extended beyond skiing. She also practised judo, running, mountain biking and rugby.

HER FINAL JOURNEY THROUGH PATAGONIA

In the days before the avalanche, Willmann and Mehdi had been travelling through Patagonia and documenting their mountain adventures.

In one of her final social-media posts, she described the couple as feeling “so lucky” to be exploring the mountains of Patagonia.

“This trip in South America keeps blowing our mind,” she wrote.

Only days later, the journey ended in tragedy.

Willmann had previously spoken about the risks of high mountains and the humility required to travel through them.

In a 2024 documentary, she said: “In the mountains you are vulnerable.”

She also said experience mattered, but that she still considered herself to be at the beginning of her journey in the mountains.

AN ATHLETE REMEMBERED FOR HER PASSION

Willmann had travelled to some of the world’s most challenging ski environments, including Nepal’s Dhaulagiri region, where she skied at extreme altitude.

Her career combined competitive freeride skiing with ski mountaineering and filmmaking, taking her far beyond traditional resort slopes.

Now, her final adventure in Patagonia has ended with the loss of a 29-year-old athlete whose life had been shaped by the mountains since childhood.

Authorities continue to investigate the circumstances of the avalanche.