Couldn't go any further

Police Rescued Lost Hiker (75) from the Mountain

(Bild: FOTOKERSCHI / MARTIN SCHARINGER)

A 75-year-old man from Kalham (Upper Austria) wanted to take advantage of the sunny fall weather for one last mountain hike. On Wednesday, he planned to climb the Erlakogel in the Ebensee municipality. However, the man got lost and ended up in rough terrain. He ultimately had to be rescued.

That morning, the 75-year-old cycled from the parking lot at the Kleiner Sonnstein in Traunkirchen to the trailhead for the hike up the Erlakogel, in the Ebensee area. The plan was to hike up the Gasselkogel, continue across unmarked terrain to the summit of the Erlakogel, and return to the valley via the hiking trail.

Already at the summit by noon
He therefore left his bicycle at the trailhead and set out on foot at 8:30 a.m., following the forest road and then the marked hiking trail toward the Gasselkogel, where he reached the summit at 12:30 p.m. After a short rest, he descended a short distance and walked through off-trail terrain covered with mountain pines toward the Erlakogel.

Emergency call made
He continued on through the pathless terrain until, at an elevation of about 1,450 meters, he was unable to proceed any further on the rocky, steep terrain and made an emergency call at 5:00 p.m. A team from the Ebensee Mountain Rescue Service began the ascent and, together with the police helicopter that had also been called in, was able to locate the uninjured hiker near a rock face at 6:15 p.m.

The retiree was ultimately rescued by the crew of the police helicopter from Salzburg using a 70-meter rope and brought down to the valley unharmed. There, the Alpine Police escorted him back to his car, and he made his own way home.