Chamonix-based freeride skier Juliette Willmann, 29, was killed in an avalanche on Tuesday 29 September on Cerro Crestón, near El Chaltén in Argentina. Her husband, Pierre-Idris Mehdi, was found injured but alive.
Terrible news has reached us from Patagonia. Skier Juliette Willmann died yesterday, Tuesday 29 September 2026, in an avalanche while ski touring with her husband, mountain guide Pierre-Idris Mehdi. She was 29.
The accident happened on Cerro Crestón, in the Lago del Desierto area, around 30 kilometres from El Chaltén, on the Argentine side. According to local media, a slab is thought to have broken away beneath their skis. The authorities of Santa Cruz province say a guide who was in the area raised the alarm at around 12.30pm local time. Several media outlets also report that a distress beacon was activated about 15 minutes after the avalanche.
Juliette at Les Grands Montets (2019). ©UL
The site is remote, a four- to five-hour walk from the road. It was therefore skiers already in the area who reached the couple first, dug out the two French skiers and gave first aid, in radio contact with the rescue services. Juliette Willmann was found buried at a depth of around 1.5 metres, showing no signs of life.
Attempts to resuscitate her, guided remotely by a doctor at the medical post, were unsuccessful. Pierre-Idris Mehdi, 30, injured but conscious, was taken to hospital. He is out of danger. The two skiers are thought to have been swept around 400 metres down the mountain.
Juliette at Les Grands Montets (2019). ©UL
Los Glaciares National Park, the Gendarmerie, the El Chaltén Rescue Commission and the health services were all called out. The Argentine Gendarmerie’s high-mountain specialists (GEAM) arrived in the afternoon and confirmed her death at 4.58pm. An investigation is under way to establish the exact circumstances of the accident.
©UL
A family of skiers
Born in Marseille in December 1996, Juliette Willmann grew up in Barcelonnette, in the Ubaye valley, before settling in Chamonix.
Skiing ran in the family: her father, Philippe, coached the technical group of the French women’s alpine ski team when Tessa Worley was dominating the discipline, and her older sister, Alison, also skied for the French national teams.
A national-level alpine skier, she turned to freeride and won the Freeride World Qualifier in 2018, which opened the door to the Freeride World Tour from 2019. Her best season came in 2021, with two second places in Andorra and fourth place overall. She also finished fourth at Baqueira Beret in 2022, before leaving the circuit at the end of that season to focus on high-mountain skiing.
two second places in Andorra
and fourth overall
on the Freeride World Tour
The documentary Rise, released in 2023, charts her shift from freeride to high-mountain skiing and follows her on several lines in the Mont Blanc massif, including the north face of the Miage and the Couturier couloir on the Aiguille Verte. The film has since been made available online.
She had been travelling around South America for several weeks. The day before the accident, she had skied Cerro Madsen, not far from El Chaltén, and shared the stunning images on social media.
Our thoughts are with Pierre-Idris, and with Juliette’s family and loved ones. We will always keep bright memories of her, of the ski tracks and photo shoots we shared.