The experienced alpinist (61), who has been searching the Wollbachspitze area (Zillertal Alps) since the end of April, is dead: a team of the Alpine Police found the man’s body on a snow field on Monday. A long search like in a criminal case with many question marks is over.
The experienced and fit mountaineer from the Tyrolean Unterland left on April 22 around 5:30 am on his own for a combined cycling and skiing tour in the Zillergrund area. After he had not returned at 9:30 p.m., the next of kin raised the alarm. A search involving the Tux, Ginzling and Mayrhofen Mountain Rescue Services, the Mayrhofen Police and the Alpine Police was initially negative and was interrupted shortly after midnight.
High avalanche danger made the search more difficult
After the missing person’s car was found in the Zillergrund area in the morning of the next day, the search in the Zillergrund area was resumed with the cooperation of the Mayrhofen mountain rescue service, the police and the police helicopter. Since the man’s bicycle was also found on an alpine meadow in the Sundergrund, a side valley of the Zillergrund, the Mayrhofen mountain rescue team climbed up with five men in the direction of the Wollbachspitze (3209), but had to abandon the search due to bad weather (fog) and the great avalanche danger cancel around noon.
Equipment lay in a steep flank
Various bad weather conditions with several meters of fresh snow made it difficult or prevented further searches. During a few clear weather windows, members of the Mountain Rescue Service surveyed the area at the top and the slopes below. Eventually, both skis and a stick were found in one flank. A fall into a crevasse, a broken cornice or an avalanche were considered causes of the accident.
Search again instead of practicing
On Monday, a team of Alpine police used the warm weather to search again: “In consultation with the mountain rescue service of Mayrhofen, we decided to search the area again instead of an exercise,” said Florian Bauernfeind, head of the Alpine police in the Schwaz district. . “As we approached the search area, we saw the man’s body lying on a snow field.”
No rift descent as initially suspected
The body was still partially covered in snow. The site is about 300 meters below the point where the equipment was found,’ says Bauernfeind. The body was recovered by the Libelle police helicopter and flown into the valley. An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday. end has been found, the relatives now have certainty.
Source: Krone
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