Rescue in Bavaria

Climber held out all night on a rock face

(Bild: facebook.com/bergwachtruhpolding)

We can only imagine the agony a 61-year-old climber in Germany had to endure at the weekend. It was definitely a rescue at the very last second when the completely exhausted man, who had become trapped on a rock face in Upper Bavaria and was unable to climb up or down, was rescued by the mountain rescue team on Saturday.

The 61-year-old had set off on Friday from Ruhpolding on a tour to the 1961-metre-high Sonntagshorn. The man from the district of Rosenheim had chosen a challenging route with several via ferratas. "At an altitude of around 1750 meters, the man lost his way and was no longer able to continue climbing on his own," according to the Ruhpolding mountain rescue service.

As he had no mobile phone reception and no other climbers came by on Friday, the lost climber had to stay on the rock face all night. It was only on Saturday morning that another hiker heard the man's desperate cries for help and immediately dialed the emergency number.

Completely exhausted and dehydrated, but otherwise unharmed
A mountain rescue team immediately went to the accident victim, secured him with a rope and brought him to safety by helicopter. The rescue took place at the very last second, as the completely exhausted and dehydrated 61-year-old had already slipped a little further several times and had no secure hold in the brittle and loose rock.

The man's countless guardian angels did a good job, because apart from the lack of fluids and fatigue, the 61-year-old remained uninjured. However, he was taken to hospital for a check-up to be on the safe side.