With the help of an app

Mountaineer gets lost on descent: danger to life

The lost Pole gave signals with his flashlight to make it easier to find him(Bild: BRD Gmunden)

A look at a hiking map would have been better: With the help of an app, a Pole got so lost on his descent from the Traunstein that the 43-year-old was in mortal danger and had to be rescued by the Gmunden mountain rescuers.

A 43-year-old Pole started up the 1691-metre-high Traunstein in the municipality of Gmunden at around 9 a.m. on Sunday. He chose the Hans-Hernler-Steig to climb the Traunsee via ferrata with difficulty D in the upper area. From the plateau of the Traunstein, after a rest, he decided to descend the unmarked steep "Zierlersteig", which he had found in an app.

A total of 13 mountain rescuers and an alpine policeman made the ascent.(Bild: BRD Gmunden)

Missed the path
At an altitude of around 1000 meters above sea level, he missed the further course of the trail and continued to descend in rough terrain. At a rock face at around 650 meters, he was unable to continue, which is why he climbed uphill again. As he could no longer find his way and was now exhausted, and due to the advanced time, he contacted the Gmunden mountain rescue service by emergency call at around 6.50 pm.

The strenuous alpine rescue operation also had its good side(Bild: BRD Gmunden)

 Rope railings and abseil slopes
13 mountain rescuers and an alpine policeman climbed up to the man and prepared a terrestrial rescue using rope railings and abseil slopes in the steep, rocky terrain. The situation was made even more difficult by the darkness. Accompanied by the mountain rescuers, he was brought back to the climb at around 8.45 pm and back down to the valley at around 9.45 pm. Apart from minor scratches, the man was uninjured.