Mountain rescuers outraged

“Rescue me from the Zugspitze by helicopter – for free!”

The Libelle Tirol police helicopter recently picked up some overtaxed alpinists from the Zugspitze. A bill only flutters into the house in cases of gross negligence.(Bild: Bergrettung Ehrwald/Christof Birbaumer/Krone KREATIV)

The emergency services in Ehrwald in Tyrol (Reutte district) have never experienced such a demand. In an e-mail, a mountaineer seriously demands to be rescued free of charge if he gets into difficulties on a tour to the Zugspitze next spring.

In recent days, Tyrolean mountain rescuers and helicopters have been called out to rescue teenagers in distress in the mountains. At the beginning of December, a 19-year-old died under an avalanche on a tour to the Zugspitze - his companion survived.

The Libelle Tirol police helicopter recently rescued some overtaxed alpinists from the Zugspitze. A bill only flutters into the house in cases of gross negligence.(Bild: Bergrettung Ehrwald/Christof Birbaumer/Krone KREATIV)

A few days later, a 15-year-old and a 16-year-old got into mountain trouble there. On New Year's Day, the Tyrolean police helicopter "Libelle" rescued four completely exhausted alpinists - three of them 18 and 20 years old - from the Stopselzieher route to the Zugspitze. And on the same day, the emergency helicopter "RK-2" rescued a 17-year-old Belgian who had crashed in the Lech Valley.

A bizarre e-mail
A - presumed - alpinist known to the editorial team by name also found out about the mission on the Zugspitze and other missions involving helicopters and contacted Ehrwald Mountain Rescue in a very special email.

(Bild: zVg)

Among other things, it says the following: "I'm planning to climb the Zugspitze via the Stopselzieher (sic!) in spring and expect to be picked up by helicopter if I can't get any further, free of charge."

Postscript: "I mean that seriously!"

When reading this email, even the usually eloquent head of the Ehrwald mountain rescue team, Regina Poberschnigg, fell silent at first. 

Ongoing rescue missions for teenagers
Whether there is time for a detailed answer is questionable. After all, Poberschnigg and her colleagues are currently working almost constantly to help young mountaineers, which they also attribute to posts on social media.

In the meantime, I keep getting the feeling that some people think that a helicopter would rescue them in an emergency anyway.

Riccardo Mizio, Einsatzleiter Bergrettung Ehrwald

Bild: Bergrettung Ehrwald

"Posts on social media attract many people to the mountains - especially when they read about great conditions," she says. "But there's hardly any mention of residual risk and cold," she says, annoyed. And Riccardo Mizio, head of operations at Ehrwald Mountain Rescue on New Year's Day, confirms: "Social media really does make a big difference in this context."

Young people also overestimate themselves
"At the age of 19, everyone thinks they are so good," says Poberschnigg, noting that the younger generation overestimate their own abilities. "But winter ascents are very special, once you stray from the route, it becomes critical in snow and ice," she warns. Even the best equipment is of no use to young people.

Wild birds in the mountains
"Some people are heading to the Zugspitze like birds. This is no longer normal," say the emergency services, shaking their heads in disbelief. Like lemmings, the three Germans and one Slovakian followed footprints off the route on New Year's Day. At around 1 p.m., they got stuck, exhausted.

Screenshot of the video call with one of the stranded climbers on the Zugspitze on New Year's Day.(Bild: Bergrettung Ehrwald)

"We are insured!"
Head of Operations Riccardo Mizio phoned one of the climbers to coordinate the rescue. "We initially wanted to rescue the quartet, who had a rescue blanket against the cold, terrestrially," explains Mizio. He informed the alpinists that the emergency services would be with them in an hour. The answer: "We can't hold out that long." Postscript: "We are insured!"

"Libelle" Tyrol as a saving angel
The consequence: the mountain rescuers alerted the Tyrolean police helicopter "Libelle". It flew the four uninjured people down to the valley.

The experienced mountain rescuer then had the feeling - not for the first time - that many people are now out and about in the mountains, calculating that the helicopter would come anyway in an emergency.