Lost on the way back

Lost tourist rescued from Krippenstein

The Czech was finally found at around 10 p.m. (symbolic image).

(Bild: Bergrettung Salzburg)

Because he was afraid of heights on the way up, a 53-year-old Czech man decided to make his way back from the Krippenstein in Upper Austria on foot. However, he had not reckoned with the snow, which was two meters high in places, and got lost at dusk. After several anxious hours, he was miraculously found unharmed.

A Czech couple wanted to visit the "5fingers" viewing platform on the afternoon of October 8. To do so, they took the Dachstein-Krippenstein cable car up the Hoher Krippenstein. Because the 53-year-old felt a fear of heights on the ascent, he decided to descend on foot via a hiking trail. He therefore asked other hikers in the cable car area about a possible descent route and had this explained to him.

Inadequate equipment
At 4 p.m., the man said goodbye to his 40-year-old wife and set off equipped with sneakers, casual clothing and a rucksack with a jacket and a bottle of water. But the first hurdles soon appeared: After about an hour of walking, the 53-year-old sent his wife a picture of the view, but said that the path was partially covered with two meters of snow and his progress was slow.

Woman dialed emergency number
At 6.25 p.m., he finally sent another message to his wife: he didn't know where he was and his cell phone battery would soon be empty. The wife could no longer reach her husband by phone from this point on and waited for him until 7.40 p.m., when she finally dialed Euronotruf.

Difficult conditions
Obertraun Mountain Rescue was alerted and set off with a total of 18 mountain rescuers in several groups to search for the missing man. The operation was made more difficult by the fog, rain and snow-covered paths. The mountain rescuers tried to locate the Czech by shouting, which they succeeded in doing at around 10 pm. Miraculously, he was found unharmed in rough terrain in the Loskoppen area. The mountain rescuers brought him back to the marked path and accompanied him from there to the cable car and on into the valley.