Rescue too dangerous – hikers had to spend the night on a rock wall

The 24-year-old woman and 21-year-old man wanted to climb the wall via the “Linzer Weg” on Sunday, lost a lot of time on the difficult route and ended up getting stuck in the dark. The tour is considered very demanding due to its difficult orientation and route finding, large hook spacing and length.

They tried to call 911 on their cell phones but got no signal. As a last resort, they texted the woman’s father about their emergency. He was able to inform the rescue workers in the Czech Republic, who in turn informed the mountain rescue service in Upper Austria.

risk of falling rocks
The troops of the Grünau mountain rescue service went to the Welserhütte that same night to reach the coordinates initially communicated. However, these turned out to be false and so a police helicopter from Vienna was called in to precisely locate the two. Due to the exposed and rock-prone terrain, a rescue at night was impossible. The two were told to stay put.

deaf recovery
According to police, a rescue at night would have been difficult due to the exposed terrain and the risk of falling rocks. “A rescue operation that night was just too dangerous. In addition, the two were clearly unharmed,” said Dieter Auinger, manager of the mountain rescue operations.

In the early morning hours, the couple was able to independently descend about 100 meters to an altitude of 2030 meters, where the Czechs were located and rescued with a rope. The well-equipped and experienced duo was unharmed except for minor injuries.