From Friday to Saturday, three young German alpinists – aged 24, 25 and 26 – had to spend the night in a snow cave at an altitude of more than 3,000 meters. They got into trouble in the mountains during a ski trip to Großvenediger in Tyrol.
The Germans – two men and a woman – had left in the morning from the Kürsinger Hütte in the Salzburg region to the Großvenediger (3,657 m) in East Tyrol. When they still had not returned by 7 p.m. that evening, the hut owner raised the alarm.
Lost orientation in the fog
A major search operation began, in which the mountain rescue team from Neukirchen (Salzburg), Prägraten in Osttirol and two East Tyrolean Alpine police officers took part and which would last all night. It turned out that the Germans had lost their orientation in the fog during the descent from the summit to the Kürsinger Hut and accidentally headed for the Neue Prager Hut. Two other alpinists warned them about the mistake, the Alpine police told the “Krone”.
Night in the emergency bivouac
To get to the Kürsinger hut, they had to climb up again. Of course it was too late for that now; darkness fell. That is why the Germans decided to build an emergency bivouac in a snow cave at an altitude of over 3,000 meters on the East Tyrolean side of the Großvenediger. “They had good equipment with them and survived the night well,” the Alpine police said.
The emergency services initially did not know exactly where they were because the alpinists had no mobile phone reception.
Finally mobile phone reception
Visibility improved on Saturday morning, allowing the trio to reach a hill where they could make a distress call. This allowed the emergency services to reach the Germans – they found them exhausted but unharmed just below the Mullwitzaderl (3244 m) at the upper entrance to the Rainerkees. The mountain rescuers – those from Matrei were now also on duty – brought the two men and the woman safely to the Johannishütte (2116 m) early in the morning, because the helicopter could not rise far enough due to the weather conditions.
The emergency medical helicopter Martin 4 then flew them from the Johannishütte into the valley to Prägraten. The mountain rescuers and alpine police officers worked for a total of more than 12 hours in the most difficult conditions: darkness, fog, fresh snow.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
