Gamspfad followed – couple got bad weather on the via ferrata

The two Czechs – a 39-year-old and a 48-year-old – had come to Hallstatt for a via ferrata holiday and also had a lot of alpine experience. Friday around 7 am the two climbed from the Kesselgrund near Hallstatt to the Hirschaualm to climb the Seewand via ferrata. The 750m long via ferrata is one of the most difficult and longest in the Eastern Alps. At 8 o’clock the two climbed off. The wall on the north side was still wet at the time. The forecast announced the passage of a cold front with partly heavy rainfall.

Chamois change led astray
The two progressed far too slowly. The woman in particular was tired and had slight pain in her knee. The two reached the point “since 1881”, 1250 meters above sea level, which corresponds exactly to half the wall. This usually takes about two hours. Still, they climbed the “bat bivouac” some 1,320 meters above sea level. There, however, they recognized the hopelessness going up and therefore descended again. Out of the wall and still attached to the steel cable of the via ferrata, they thought they saw a path far away from the via ferrata. They headed for this one. But the path was only a chamois change and led the friends into impassable steep terrain. At around 4:30 p.m., the two made an emergency call and described their predicament. A mountain police officer who speaks fluent Czech provided valuable interpreting services.

After the weather conditions and especially visibility improved, the helicopter crew managed to rescue the two climbers on the short hanger around 6.15 pm and fly down into the valley. A rescue operation on land would not have taken place in the evening and night hours due to the conditions and terrain and the two Czechs would have had to hold out until the morning hours. The rescued, who refused medical attention, were then taken to their car in the parking lot.