A handheld laser distance measuring device (1) and extreme value measurement process, including, in a first step, an input means (2) is actuated that triggers a measurement sequence, during which, in a second step, individual distance measurements are made triggered by the handheld laser distance device (1) and, in a third step, at least one minimum value (4) or one maximum value (5) relative to the measurement sequence is determined by the handheld laser distance measuring device using the individual measurements. An extreme value difference (6) relative to the measurement sequence is computed by the handheld laser distance measuring device (1) using at least one minimum value (5) and at least one maximum value (4).