Rescue Operation Lasted Hours

Hikers Fell into a Glacier Crevasse on the Dachstein

The two had been on their way to the Seethalerhütte.(Bild: Herbert Raffalt)

Two German mountaineers, along with mountain rescue teams and the alpine police, have had a sleepless night. The two friends fell into a crevasse on the Dachstein on Saturday evening. The seriously injured men were still able to call emergency services themselves. The rescue operation was extremely complex.

On Saturday around 5:30 p.m., a rope team fell into a crevasse in the Randkluft area of the Hoher Dachstein. Two friends from Germany, aged 32 and 39, reached the summit of the Hoher Dachstein on Saturday afternoon after ascending via the “Schulteranstieg” route. For the descent, the two men chose the route via the “Randkluftsteig.” The two friends were properly equipped for the via ferrata and encountered little difficulty until the end of the climbing sections.

Friend Was Swept Away
However, the Randkluftsteig ends at an elevation of 2,700 meters in the upper section of the Hallstätter Glacier, which is currently heavily covered with crevasses. The two decided to descend the ice field—which has a gradient of about 40 degrees—as a glacier rope team, connected by a 10-meter section of rope, at the same time. Just a few meters into the steeply sloping glacier, the climber at the rear of the rope team lost his footing and fell. As the first climber slid down, the second man was dragged along with him, and both fell into a crevasse below. Despite suffering serious injuries, one of the two was still able to make an emergency call.

Hard-to-reach crevasse
Mountain rescuers from Styria and alpine police officers from Upper Austria traveled to the scene of the accident via the Dachstein South Face Cable Car and simultaneously by police helicopter. The first responders arrived at the scene after about an hour and found the two climbers, seriously injured, lying about 15 meters deep in a glacier crevasse that was extremely difficult to reach.

Helicopter Rescue Initially Impossible
Since rescue by an emergency medical helicopter was not possible due to strong winds, fog, and the approaching darkness, mountain rescuers were rappelled down to the injured climbers to provide initial medical care. At the same time, emergency responders prepared for a complex ground evacuation. It was not until around 3 a.m. that the last injured person could be transferred to an emergency medical helicopter capable of night flights at a suitable staging area.