Another case of hubris and poor travel planning: the Innsbruck mountain rescue service had to rescue a four-member American family from the Innsbruck via ferrata on Sunday evening under the most unfavorable external conditions. The mountaineers were completely exhausted and could not continue.
What Innsbruck’s mountain rescue leader Bruno Berloffa had just criticized in the “Krone” was confirmed on Sunday: Many tourists at home see great photos and videos of the mountains around Innsbruck and think they can do these tours themselves. They then have to discover on the spot that the Tyrolean mountains are rougher than in the PR articles.
An American family of four from Boston (father 52, mother 48, daughters 17 and 15) took the Nordkette cable car to Hafelekar on Sunday morning and rented via ferrata sets from the Nordkette. At 11:00 they set off on the Innsbruck via ferrata, of which they wanted to hike the first section.
Rain and strong northerly wind
“On the internet, the walking time to Kemacher is indicated as three to three and a half hours. “But the group didn’t arrive until around 5 p.m.,” says Bruno Berloffa. The Americans probably hadn’t studied the weather forecasts properly, because around 2 p.m. it started to rain in the Innsbruck area. Berloffa: “There was also a strong northerly wind.”
The result: around 5:00 p.m. the quartet in the Kemacher area were at the end of their physical condition and there were also the unfavorable weather conditions. They panicked and called the emergency number.
“The helicopter couldn’t fly because of the weather, so we drove with eight rescue services to the Seegrube and went to the Langer Sattel below the Kemacher, where there is an emergency bivouac,” Berloffa describes the start of the operation. The mountain rescuers then climbed up to join the Americans and then climbed with the exhausted mountaineers to the Long Saddle.
Bad equipment
“They were not equipped for the heavy rain, they were exhausted, soaked and hypothermic,” says the head of the mountain rescue. The rescue services had to warm the Americans at the bivouac with emergency blankets and provide them with extra clothing.
Walking on slippery terrain
Then began the arduous hike over slippery terrain back to the Seegrube. The parents in particular were in very poor physical condition. Nevertheless, the rescue services managed to get the quartet safely and unharmed to the Seegrubenbahn mountain station. “The Nordkettebahn was fortunately waiting and brought us to Innsbruck around 9:30 p.m.,” says Berloffa. As an ‘extra service’, the mountain rescuers brought the exhausted but uninjured Americans to the hotel.
The daughters’ original plan to spend Monday at the Innsbruck climbing centre probably didn’t work out, the mountain rescuer laughs.
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.
