Together with her husband Gunther, Dyhrenfurth was awarded the 1936 Olympic gold medal in alpinism, the third and final time the award was offered. The award was given in recognition of the couple's achievements during their 1934 expedition to the upper Baltoro glacier in the Karakoram, where they made the first ascents of all four summits of the Sia Kangri mountain. During this expedition, Dyhrenfurth set the women's altitude record of 7,315 meters that would remain in place for 20 years.