Search flight aborted – riddles about the fate of missing ski tourers

Reportedly, an Unterländer tourer (61) has been missing since Saturday in the area of ​​the 3209 meter high border mountain to South Tyrol in the Zillertal Alps. The relatives had sounded the alarm on Saturday evening. “Especially the Wollbachspitze was completely shrouded in clouds on Sunday, so we couldn’t go up the mountain and couldn’t see it,” says Libelle Tirol pilot Hans Schlager. The mountain rescuers had to turn back after about 2500 meters due to avalanche danger.

Avalanche, crevasse, broken rock
For Ulli Huber of the Ginzling mountain rescue service, who was searching with colleagues from Mayrhofen and Tux, there are three possibilities of what could have happened: “The man could have fallen under an avalanche, fell into a crevasse or was a victim suffered a wire break.” Libelle pilot Schlager also does not rule out a medical emergency.

One thing is certain: the Unterlander traveling alone is an experienced, fit alpinist for whom the journey to the Wollbachspitze was not new territory. “Of course, the extremely high temperatures in combination with the fresh snow created a dangerous avalanche situation,” says Ulli Huber.

Avalanche danger too great
A terrestrial search was still much too delicate on Monday, but the crew of the Libelle Tirol could use a weather window for a search flight. However, the mountain was still shrouded in fog. “According to relatives, the missing person wore striking clothing and usually had the avalanche transceiver on,” says pilot Schlager. “It should be possible to find it from the helicopter that way,” he hopes for better luck on the next attempt.