Mountain rescuers with an appeal

Alpinist who didn’t know the way back calls for helpers

At Totenköpfl in the Salzkammergut, police and mountain rescuers had to rescue three German climbers using a rope.(Bild: Bergrettung OÖ)

A 41-year-old climber did not know the way back from a via ferrata in Hallstatt, ended up completely exhausted in front of a rock face and had to be rescued in the last light of day. Upper Austria's mountain rescue chief appeals to recreational athletes to prepare well for tours.

"Please take a good look at the tour and the route in advance. Also how I will get back down and how long it will take me," Christoph Preimesberger, regional head of the Upper Austrian Mountain Rescue Service, appeals to the "Krone" newspaper. The reason for this is the case of a 41-year-old alpinist who hiked up a mountain without really knowing how to get back down.

Rescue in the last light of day
On Wednesday in Hallstatt, as reported, things just went well. A 41-year-old man from Graz was on his way up the Seewand via ferrata. He found out about the via ferrata on the internet beforehand, but not about the descent route. As this initially led away from a parking lot and seemed strange to the man from Graz, the 41-year-old took a wrong turn into unknown and pathless terrain.

Completely exhausted, he came to a halt in front of a rock face and made an emergency call at around 8 pm - the sportsman had started his tour at around 12.30 pm. In the last light of day, the lost climber was rescued by a police helicopter.

German trio's rope got stuck
Three experienced climbers from Germany had also taken a wrong turn two days earlier. The trio were on a tour on the Totenköpfl near the Vorderer Langbathsee. The athletes realized their mistake immediately and started abseiling, but the rope got stuck - they also had to be rescued from their predicament by helicopter using a rope.