One of the young blue promises of sport climbing lost his life in the mountains of India: Elisabeth Lardschneider, 20, died following a fall of more than 150 meters down a wall in the Ladakh mountains, in the valley of the Zanskar.
The athlete from Ortisei had left for India with 6 other South Tyrolean climbers, intent on exploring new routes in a rather remote area and so far little exploited by the world of climbing. During a climb, for reasons that are still being investigated, Elisabeth lost her grip and fell over 150 meters, so much so as to make even the complicated rescue attempts useless, since death occurred on the spot.
A natural talent
It all happened in the Italian morning of Wednesday 26 July: a few hours later the news spread throughout Ortisei, forced to cry one of the most promising girls on the national scene, already decided to take part in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games (sport climbing made its debut in the Olympic program at Tokyo 2020).
Elisabeth for someone was a sort of predestined: she has approached climbing since she was a child, combining her passion for the mountains with the desire to emerge in a discipline that is as demanding as it is fascinating.
Also studies at the Merano high school for social sciences (with specialization in sport) went in the indicated direction: Lardschneider saw in her future an athlete’s life, and his fame has been on the rise since the age of 14, when he climbed the Menhirs, a wall 8b present at pitch Gardena.
When Elisabeth had climbed the west face of Pok Odessa
The national federation quickly took an interest in this very young girl, that shortly thereafter she would have become part of the youth national team tour.
Last year Elisabeth had climbed the west face of Pok Odessa, a mountain 4,810 meters high in the Kyrgyzstan, after that feat (shared with 3 other adventure companions) the idea of being able to find a place in the team that was going to play for a medal in Paris 2024.
The dream, the mountain guide and the Catores
His real dream, however, was to become a mountain guide and join the Catores, special unit of mountaineers and rescuers in the Dolomite areas. Returned to live in Val Gardena after graduating from high school, Lardschneider had immediately responded with enthusiasm to the invitation to become a consultant in a climbing gym in Bressanone, allowing yourself during the summer some adventures on the most fascinating and partly unknown mountains in the world.
The pain of a community
The expedition to India was to represent another important stage in his growth, as an athlete and as a person. Planned last winter with a team of 6 other climbers, it seemed it could turn out to be like a great new adventure, perhaps exploring little-known routes outside the climbing world.
But a fatality cost her her life, ruining all his wonderful projects and throwing an entire community into despair. The mayor of Ortisei, Tobia Moroder, could not help but comment with dismay on the news arriving from India.
A loss for all of Val Gardena, but also for the world of sport climbing, which will have to get used to not having to deal with that smile that opened your heart anymore, as well as with that carefree and full of life girl who knew how to convey all the love for the mountains. A talent that paid a huge price, snatched so early by a cynical and mocking fate.
