In Hallstatt

Helicopter had to come after fall into via ferrata set

Via ferratas are fun, but also a challenge (symbolic image)

(Bild: Tourismusverein Falkert)

Neither the mountain rescuers nor the helicopter pilots are getting tired at the moment. On Thursday morning, a young athlete had to be rescued from the Seewand in Hallstatt after he had triggered the shock absorber of his via ferrata set in a fall.

A 27-year-old from Oberwang drove to Hallstatt with three friends early on Thursday morning to tackle the challenging Seewand via ferrata. The four Austrians set off from the valley village at 6 a.m. and, after about 45 minutes of climbing, entered the via ferrata, which is rated D/E in difficulty. The 27-year-old fell into his via ferrata set in the area of the "Doppeldach" section shortly after half past 9 a.m. while still in the first third of the via ferrata.

Problems clipping on
In a difficult, partially overhanging section of the via ferrata, the man had problems clipping the via ferrata carabiner and was no longer able to hold on to the steel cable. The fall of a few meters into the via ferrata was slowed down by the "tearing open" of the shock absorber, which is why the man was not injured. However, as neither a further ascent via the still long via ferrata nor a descent with the no longer functional via ferrata set was possible, the 27-year-old informed the Hallstatt mountain rescue service by telephone.

Rescued with rope
In order to rescue the uninjured man from the steep rock face, the head of operations requested the police helicopter from the Salzburg flight operations center. The air police crew was able to pick up the well-equipped and experienced climber from his position on the variable rope and bring him safely down to the valley.