Lured by TikTok?

TikTok climber dead: Friend called 911

The 20-year-old, a native of Ukraine, had to watch his friend fall. He was rescued by helicopter.(Bild: Bergrettung Ehrwald)

Possibly lured by posts on social media, two 20-year-old Germans wanted to enjoy the sunrise from Germany’s highest mountain after their ascent of the Zugspitze. Young, inexperienced, and poorly equipped, a snowfield proved fatal for one of them. “You almost have to assume that accidents will happen,” an experienced Tyrolean mountain rescuer can hardly believe it. 

Was it once again beautiful images on social media that inspired the young duo living in Germany to climb Germany’s highest mountain? As reported, on Friday night, the two 20-year-old Germans ascended via the so-called “Stopselzieherroute” on the Tyrolean side from Ehrwald toward the Zugspitze.

Both were poorly equipped for the season. “They had neither crampons, nor a harness, helmet, or ice axe with them,” says Riccardo Mizio, head of operations for the Ehrwald Mountain Rescue Service, in disbelief. Yet there is still plenty of snow on the route, and they had to cross hard-frozen snowfields. The two young people, who were apparently inexperienced in the mountains, were wearing only Grödel (note: a type of “snow chain”) on their shoes.

(Bild: Bergrettung Ehrwald)

US emergency call ended up in Bavaria 
It happened around 3 a.m.: While crossing a snowfield, one of the two, a native of Kazakhstan, slipped and fell. His companion, who is from Ukraine, couldn’t grasp the severity of the accident due to his inexperience, but he did raise the alarm. “However, he dialed the U.S. emergency number, which then went through to the police in Bavaria,” says Operations Manager Mizio.

The videos on social media are so provocative that one almost has to assume accidents will happen. 

Riccardo Mizio, Einsatzleiter BR Ehrwald

The 20-year-old, who could only communicate in broken English, was barely able to explain to the control center which route he was on. Thus, a search operation began, involving the “Christoph München” helicopter, which is equipped for night flights; at the same time, the Ehrwald Mountain Rescue Service was notified. From the air, the rescuers searched desperately for points of light; no one knew where on Germany’s highest mountain the emergency had occurred.

Young mountaineer in shock: friend suddenly gone
Shortly after 4 a.m., the rescue teams finally spotted a light on the “Stopselzieherroute.” “The helicopter then flew me and a colleague to the Wiener Neustädter Hut, and from there we continued on foot,” Riccardo Mizio describes. “We soon made voice contact and encountered the survivor, who could only tell us that his friend was no longer there because he had slipped. He couldn’t tell us anything else and couldn’t identify himself either.”

The accident occurred on a hard-frozen snowfield that, according to mountain rescue, would have been impassable without crampons. Mizio subsequently descended toward the base of the wall and discovered the body of the 20-year-old, a native of Kazakhstan, there around 5 a.m. He had fallen approximately 250 meters over the steepest rocky terrain.

Provocative images and videos on social media 
Meanwhile, a helicopter equipped with night vision had also arrived from Liechtenstein. It flew the survivor and the mountain rescuer down to the valley, and the Libelle Tirol finally recovered the body. Mizio expressed shock at the accident involving the young man, who was apparently inexperienced in the mountains. It seems likely that the two—like so many other young people before them—had been drawn in by beautiful images on social media. Ehrwald mountain rescuers had previously issued an explicit warning about this in the “Krone” newspaper.

Already the second fatality on this route since December
“I’ve seen the videos on social media myself. They’re so provocative that you almost have to assume accidents will happen,” the experienced mountain rescuer and guide can hardly believe it. “Where will this recklessness lead? This tragic death could have been completely avoided.” This is already the second young man to have lost his life on the “Stopselzieherroute” since December.