Rescued by helicopter

Exhausting detour brought alpinist into mountain distress

Even experienced and powerful alpinists are not immune to reaching the limits of their strength. In East Tyrol on Sunday, a 43-year-old had to make an emergency call because he was unable to make any further progress in the Venediger group. 

As the police emphasize, the 43-year-old has alpine experience. Nevertheless, he got into mountain distress while descending from the summit of the Kristallwand in the Venediger group. The man had set off on the tour from Matrei at around 6.30 am.

However, the ascent via the normal route was not possible due to a rockfall. So the mountaineer had to climb directly over the exhausting Kristallwand to the summit at more than 3,300 meters. He reached the summit at around 1.30 pm. 

On the way back, the man found himself in increasingly steep and impassable terrain as he searched for an easier way down. "At around 3 p.m., the 43-year-old was forced to make an emergency call," said the police. The alpinist was rescued from his predicament by the crew of the police helicopter using a rope and flown down into the valley.