On Tuesday, September 29, an avalanche at Cerro Crestón near El Chaltén, in Santa Cruz, claimed the life of the French skier Juliette Agathe Willmann, 29. The tragedy occurred during a trek she was undertaking with her husband, Pierre-Idris Mehdi, and it sent shockwaves through her family, friends and the sporting community.
Born in Marseille, Juliette had stood out in freestyle and mountain skiing. According to reports released about the accident, around 12:30 p.m. an avalanche reached them in the Desert Lake area and dragged them about 400 meters down the slope, in a sector located roughly 3,100 meters above sea level.
While Pierre-Idris managed to survive, Juliette was buried under the snow, at a depth of roughly one and a half meters.
Emergency teams were dispatched about 15 minutes after the incident, and when the athlete was found, she showed no vital signs. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) maneuvers were carried out, guided by the station’s doctor via radio, but she could not be saved.
The Painful Farewell Letter from Pierre-Idris to His Wife
From a very young age, Juliette had shown a deep passion for sport and outdoor activities. Throughout her life, she practiced judo, running, mountain biking, rugby, and competitive skiing, until she found ski mountaineering to be one of her great passions.
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Her career also led her to compete and work as a ski instructor, while she shared on her social networks her sports challenges, her progress, and her experiences in contact with nature.
Nearly twenty days after the tragedy, her husband dedicated an extensive letter to her on social media. Through his words, he remembered Juliette’s energy, her adventurous spirit, and the way she had shaped his life.
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“Be proud of yourself up there. You were the skier of happiness, the climber of pleasure, the surfer of nirvana, the most fulfilled person I have known. In truth, you were the real world champion in many areas. You didn’t wear a medal around your neck, but you wore all these medals in your heart,” he wrote at the start of the tribute.
He then highlighted the qualities he admired most in her and thanked the messages he received after her death, in which others shared the impact the athlete had had on their lives.
“Your modesty, your energy, your kindness have always inspired and impressed me. Your little smiles will stay with me forever. In recent days, I have received several testimonies that pierced me and once again consoled me, that you were a role model, an inspiration, a person who had understood many things without necessarily showing it,” he said.
The Challenge of Moving Forward After Surviving the Avalanche
In another section of the letter, Pierre-Idris reflected on the pain that awaits him and the difficulty of learning to live with his wife’s absence. He also found in the image of the sea and its waves a way to express the hope of regaining, with time, a certain sense of calm.
“What good will it do me to hear that? I know the storms and the paths I will take will be violent beyond words, and they will ravage much along the way. But one day, the sea will calm and give way to beautiful waves I could ride. The paths will be less abrupt, and this will allow me to regain my smile and love for life. I will carry with me all the moments of happiness, I promise you. Do not worry, I am well surrounded here and you up there as well,” he wrote.
The athlete also spoke of what surviving the accident meant and of the commitment he feels to honor the history they built together.
“Thank you for this life without limits, of wildness, of happiness, of passing sadness, of unforgettable memories. The man I am today is completely bound to our story. I’m lucky to have been knocked down, traumatized, pushed by the same weights of snow, but I remain standing to honor your memory to the end. As we had promised, to life and to death. So I will embrace these damned responsibilities until the end,” he said.
Finally, he bid farewell with a declaration of love and the wish that Juliette could continue enjoying what had defined her way of living. “Now you keep flying far away, very high, and never tire of laughing, loving, and dreaming even up there. I will keep telling you I love you until you hear it. 🪶🦅🌸❤️,” he concluded.
Alongside his words, Pierre-Idris shared photographs spanning Juliette’s life, reflecting her passion for adventure. In the pictures, the athlete is seen cycling, skiing, climbing, and backpacking, always surrounded by natural landscapes.
The postcards show a spontaneous and vibrant facet of the young woman, with smiles and moments that testify to her bond with sport and nature.
Through this tribute, Pierre-Idris chose to remember his wife for the energy with which she lived every experience, her love for adventure and the mark she left on those who shared their journey. A farewell shaped by pain, but also by gratitude for a love story that will continue to be part of him.
