Off the trail

Two rescues from alpine terrain in one night

The climbers got lost in the high alpine terrain (symbolic image).

(Bild: Hubert Rauth (Symbolbild))

On Thursday, two groups of mountaineers got into life-threatening situations in the Tennengebirge and on the Hochthron in the Salzburg region. Thanks to rapid helicopter operations, all those involved were rescued in time.

Twice on Thursday, alpinists had to be rescued by helicopter in Salzburg's Tennengebirge mountains because they could go no further. In the late afternoon, a helicopter brought a Canadian to safety who had gotten lost in high alpine terrain while wearing leisure shoes. During the night, two exhausted climbers were then rescued from a wall, the police reported on Friday.

According to the 26-year-old Canadian, he had already set off three days ago from Abtenau to cross the Tennengebirge. On Thursday, while descending from the Eiskogel in the direction of the Tauernscharte, he strayed from the marked path and ended up in the steep and rough terrain of the so-called "Heugasse". There he was observed by a German hiker, who then made an emergency call and stated that a man was in danger of falling in the steep terrain.

A police helicopter, which happened to be nearby, flew to the spot and rescued the Canadian with a rope far from any path. The 26-year-old, who had undertaken the tour wearing only sneakers, said afterwards that he had underestimated the high alpine terrain of the Tennengebirge.

After dark, another emergency call came from the Tennengebirge. A 49-year-old woman and a 62-year-old man had started a climbing route at around 10.30 a.m., which includes eleven pitches and whose most difficult parts are in the upper 4th degree of difficulty. After several problems finding the route, the two reached the limits of their climbing technique and strength on the penultimate pitch. At a certain point, the woman could go no further. When it was already dark, they raised the alarm. At around 10 p.m., the crew of a rescue helicopter managed to get the two out of the wall.