A helicopter was dispatched for the rescue

“Blind” on the Traunstein at night

The three mountaineers had to be airlifted out of Traunstein that night.(Bild: Bergrettung Gmunden)

They were effectively blind as night fell on the Traunstein. And already too exhausted to make the descent. The Gmunden Mountain Rescue Team had to be dispatched late Sunday night to bring three young mountaineers to safety—and they needed a helicopter to do so.

The three climbers—a young man and two women, aged 28 to 31—had apparently planned their route incorrectly and underestimated the time and effort required. The trio, from Belarus, Russia, and Poland, had traveled all the way from Vienna specifically to conquer the Traunstein.

Only a third of the way done
But the trio, who appeared athletic on the surface, had underestimated the effort the mountain demanded. At 5:30 p.m., the friends had begun their descent, but three hours later they had only made it a third of the way down and were stranded at 1,200 meters above sea level. 

During the rescue, the helicopter hovers over the Naturfreundesteig trail to pick up the hikers.(Bild: Bergrettung Gmunden)

The mountain rescuers had to ascend and descend on foot—the stranded mountaineers were airlifted out(Bild: Bergrettung Gmunden)

Too exhausted to descend
“One of the young women couldn’t go any further either; her legs gave out,” says Stefan Oberkalmsteiner, local chapter head of the Gmunden Mountain Rescue Service. Therefore, the mountain rescuers decided to call in the C14 rescue helicopter, which is capable of night flights, since it was unclear whether they could safely escort the three exhausted mountaineers down to the valley via the Naturfreundesteig trail.

Rescue by Rope
The trio was rescued using a rope while the helicopter hovered above the cliff face. While the hikers were flown down to the valley, the rescuers had to descend on foot.