Holidaymaker with emergency call

Trapped on Zugspitze in storm, ice and snow

(Bild: Bergrettung Ehrwald)

Despite a lousy weather forecast, they wanted to climb the Zugspitze (2962 meters), Germany's highest mountain, from Ehrwald in Tyrol. 400 meters below the summit, they had to give up in the snowstorm. The Ehrwald mountain rescue team rescued five alpinists on Sunday in a challenging operation.

According to the calendar, fall has only just begun. The five alpinists from the Czech Republic probably didn't have the fact that there is currently snow and ice below 2000 meters in Tyrol on their itinerary. 

On the move in two groups
The four men and one woman set off in two - independent - groups on Sunday morning from Ehrwald towards the Zugspitze. "It was raining in the valley, snowing higher up and there was ice on the route," says Robin Lutnig from Ehrwald Mountain Rescue. "You shouldn't undertake this tour in such conditions," he emphasizes. "In any case, it is important to continuously evaluate the conditions during the approach and take appropriate steps."

The alpinists were able to recover in the warm tent in between.(Bild: Bergrettung Ehrwald, Krone KREATIV)

The quintet obviously didn't do this and, despite the conditions, ventured on the ascent via the so-called Stopselzieher route, a kind of via ferrata - without crampons. "In conditions like these, it's like ice skating on a mountain," the mountain rescuer draws a comparison. The further the five of them climbed, the more precarious the weather conditions became. There were gusts of up to 80 km/h and the temperatures were minus seven degrees.

In such conditions, it's like ice skating on a mountain.

Robin Lutnig, Bergrettung Ehrwald

Bild: privat

The so-called wind chill, the difference between the measured air temperature and the perceived temperature depending on the wind speed, dramatically exacerbated the situation. The alpinists were exposed to temperatures of up to 20 degrees below zero.

End of the line on icy rock
It came as it had to: at around 2500 meters, it was the end of the line for the two groups. This was also because they were traveling without crampons - a life-threatening situation in the icy rock. At around 2 p.m., they raised the alarm together.

Descent to the Czechs
Six men from Ehrwald Mountain Rescue, led by Maximilian Rothleitner, then took the Tiroler Zugspitzbahn cable car to the summit. In a challenging descent in the most adverse conditions, the mountain rescuers fought their way down to the five alpinists. They reached the stranded men at around 3.30 pm. "They had been holding out in their predicament for quite some time and were already slightly hypothermic," says Robin Lutnig. The emergency services looked after the alpinists, who were not optimally clothed for the conditions and were able to warm themselves in special tents.

The rescuers took the Zugspitze cable car up the mountain.(Bild: Bergrettung Ehrwald)

Mountain rescuers and alpinists had to climb into the gondola via one of the cable car's mighty supports.(Bild: Bergrettung Ehrwald)

Deepest winter on the Zugspitze(Bild: Bergrettung Ehrwald)

Warming tents set up
The mountain rescuers then roped up the stranded climbers and guided them around 600 meters down through snow-covered and icy rocks to the two-person support of the Zugspitze cable car. Two intermediate stops were made so that the climbers could warm up again in their tents. The Lermoos mountain rescuers also helped out.

Ascent to the two-man support
Then things got really "exciting" once again. Due to time constraints, the rescue team and the Czechs climbed up the sloping, 40-metre-high support using a ladder. A Zugspitzbahn gondola was already waiting at the top, which brought everyone safely down to the valley at around 7.30 pm. The climbers were uninjured and were able to make their own way home. It was "closing time" for the eleven mountain rescuers at 8 pm.

Extra shift for the Zugspitzbahn
"The Tiroler Zugspitzbahn and its employees put in an extra shift for the rescue operation," says Lutnig gratefully. "Without this support, operations like this would not be possible."