Because they took far too long to complete their climb, two Polish climbers got into mountain distress on Sunday on the Wilder Kaiser in Tyrol. Despite the pouring rain, mountain rescuers climbed up during the night, and the alpinists were finally rescued by helicopter in the morning.
The two men (27 and 28 years old) started at 7:00 on Sunday at the Griesner Alm and then climbed the climbing route “Via Classica” towards the summit of the Fleischbank (2186 m). This is a climbing route with a fifth difficulty level. The average duration of the tour is about 6 hours.
“It took forever for them to tour”
“The normal descent route goes over the top. But it took forever for the two men to complete the tour. Because they were already so late and it was raining heavily, they decided to descend again over the north ridge,” says Thomas Müllauer from the St. Johann mountain rescue service.
However, the duo only just managed to get above the so-called Fleischbank pillar at an altitude of around 1,250 metres. Completely soaked and exhausted, the climbers raised the alarm at around 1 a.m. on Monday. As a reminder, they started at 7 a.m. on Sunday morning.
The men were too exhausted
“We had telephone contact with the men who had lamps and wanted to give them the further route by telephone,” says Thomas Müllauer. But the two alpinists were apparently far too exhausted to descend any further.
Two-hour climb for mountain rescuers
As a result, four mountain rescuers from St. Johann climbed from the Griesner Alm to the trapped people at night under the most unfavorable weather conditions – pouring rain. “We reached the hypothermic climbers after about 2 hours,” says Müllauer. The emergency services immediately started thermal management and provided the duo with drinks.
The mountain rescuers then started the descent together with the Poles, but more than 100 meters in altitude was no longer possible due to their poor physical condition.
Salvaged with helicopter rope
Meanwhile, two more mountain rescuers left St. Johann. “At daybreak, they contacted the medical emergency helicopter C 1, which managed to reach the victims from the air around 5 a.m. – thanks in part to an improvement in the weather – and flew the duo over the Tau to the Stripsenjochhaus. We supported the helicopter in the rescue,” says Müllauer.
Fortunately, the Poles were only slightly hypothermic, but otherwise unharmed and did not have to go to the hospital. It was not time for work for the emergency services until around 9:00 am.
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.
