Shock in South Tyrol

Inventor of barefoot shoes falls 300 meters to his death

Born in South Tyrol, Robert Fliri revolutionized barefoot walking with his invention.

(Bild: X I Vibram Five Fingers)

The inventor of barefoot shoes, Robert Fliri, described himself as a "child of the mountains". But they proved to be the 48-year-old's undoing when he went hiking on his own in his native South Tyrolean mountains. The experienced mountaineer lost his footing on a steep ridge. The "Mango" billionaire Isak Andic was also the victim of a tragic hiking accident.

The mountaineer Robert Fliri fell on Wednesday at an altitude of around 3,400 meters. The experienced Fliri, who knew his way around, was hiking near the northern Schwemser Spitze in the Upper Venosta Valley when he lost his footing on a steep ridge and fell around 300 meters. He suffered such serious injuries that he died at the scene of the accident.

Third mountain accident in a few days
Other mountaineers witnessed the fall and immediately alerted the rescue services. The site of the 48-year-old's accident is said to be particularly rocky terrain, which also made the rescue work difficult. There was also strong wind at the time of the rescue, when the rescue team abseiled down to Fliri from a helicopter. The area in the Upper Vinschgau Valley is considered challenging - there had already been two other fatal mountain accidents there on Tuesday.

Invention caused a stir
Fliri, who came from the region, revolutionized the leisure sports market with his invention of barefoot shoes. He started developing them back in 1999 and explained his motivation as follows: "I am a child of the mountains, I worked as a lumberjack and spent a lot of time on my grandparents' farm above Naturns in South Tyrol. I always sought close contact with nature and gradually began to walk barefoot in the mountains too."

To preserve the feeling of walking barefoot and at the same time protect his feet from injury, he developed shoes with separate sections for each toe. "The feeling is very similar to walking barefoot - with added protection from rough surfaces," said Fliri.

To maintain the barefoot feeling while protecting the feet from injury, he designed shoes with individual chambers for each toe.

(Bild: Marion Hörmandinger)

His invention caused a worldwide sensation: in 2007, "Time" magazine named the shoes one of the best innovations of the year. In 2008, Fliri received the Italian Creative Award, and in 2009 his shoes were used for the first time in the New York Marathon.

"Mango" billionaire crashes in Spain
Another well-known and experienced mountaineer fell to his death on a hike in the Montserrat mountains in Spain. The founder of the fashion company "Mango" Isak Andic fell 150 meters with his eldest son on a well-secured hiking trail in December. 

For the investigators, it was initially a hiking accident. After the accident, his son Jonathan (43) explained that he had been walking ahead and suddenly heard stones falling. When he turned around, he saw his father fall. 

Isak Andic, born in Istanbul (Turkey), moved to Spain at the age of 16 and founded the fashion group Mango in 1994.

(Bild: AFP/Handout)

Unanswered questions: son in the focus of the investigation
The hiking trip was intended to help resolve the disagreements between father and son, as according to Andic, the son almost drove the fashion company to ruin after taking it over. Local Spanish media reported incorrect statements by the son - he is said to have said that he did not take any photos. This turned out to be false.

It is also questionable that, according to the Spanish radio station "Cope", the 72-year-old is said to have received death threats shortly beforehand because he was a "defender of the state of Israel". Investigators are now looking into whether the son was complicit in his father's death and are reopening the accident investigation.

The police have requested the geolocation of Andic's and his father's cell phones from Vodafone in order to determine their exact position at the time of the crash. They also want to request geo-data from Google and photos from the day of the accident.