Professional Skier Juliette Willmann Killed in Avalanche in Argentina
The 29-year-old French athlete was swept 1,300 feet down Cerro Creston mountain with her husband, Pierre-Idris Mehdi, who survived.
French professional skier Juliette Willmann, 29, died in an avalanche in the Patagonian Andes of Argentina on Tuesday.
Willmann was skiing with her newlywed husband, Pierre-Idris Mehdi, 30, when a large mass of snow broke loose on Cerro Creston mountain around 12:30 p.m. The avalanche swept the couple down approximately 1,312 feet. Willmann was buried under five feet of snow and ice.
Rescue efforts were initiated by skiers on the mountain, and mountain rescue, police, Civil Defense services, and medics were dispatched. The couple was located around 5 p.m., hours after the incident. Mehdi survived and was evacuated for medical treatment, but Willmann was found without vital signs. Despite resuscitation attempts, she could not be revived.
An investigation into the avalanche is underway. The Government of Santa Cruz provided information regarding the rescue operation.
Willmann was a prominent figure in the freeride and ski mountaineering circuit, competing in the Freeride World Tour from 2019 to 2022. She hailed from a well-known French ski family; her father, Phillippe, is a former French alpine ski coach, and her older sister, Alison, raced for the national alpine team.
Olivier Greber, president of the Chamonix guide company, confirmed Willmann's death to AFP, noting that her husband, Mehdi, who has worked as a guide in the valley for two years, was "very affected." They had reportedly been married recently.
Before the accident, Willmann shared posts on social media expressing gratitude for her travels in Patagonia with her husband, describing their South American trip as "blowing our mind."
Willmann had previously spoken about the inherent dangers of extreme mountain environments, emphasizing the need for respect and listening to the mountain. She noted in a 2024 documentary, "In the mountains you are vulnerable. The mountains decide and you have to listen to them, you have to respect them."