In the old snow

Father and son’s mountain hike ends dramatically

A 16-year-old boy fell three meters down a rock step on Whitsunday during an alpine hike with his father on the Plassen near Hallstatt. The father had cut extra steps in the old snow for his son, but the junior unfortunately slipped during the traverse.

A 50-year-old man and his 16-year-old son, both from the Liezen district, hiked up the 1953-metre-high Plassen on Sunday. The two started their hike in Hallstatt in the morning and climbed on foot over the Salzberg to their destination summit. At around 12 noon, they decided to descend on the north side towards Gosau and take a different route back to Hallstatt.

Father cut steps in the snow for his son
On the descent on the north side, the two had to cross an old snow field in a steep gully at around 1720 meters above sea level. The father went ahead and knocked steps into the compact old snow for his son. His son followed him, but slipped on the traverse and slid about five meters down the snow field. He then fell over a rock step around three meters high and came to rest on a meadow. As a result, the boy sustained injuries of indeterminate severity. 

Rescued by helicopter with a rope
His father was able to climb down to him and take care of the 16-year-old. As it was no longer possible for the accident victim to descend on his own, the C14 emergency helicopter and the Hallstatt mountain rescue team were alerted. The injured Styrian was rescued from the scene of the accident using a rope and then taken to hospital in Bad Ischl. The father remained uninjured.