Tyrol’s mountain rescuers had to go on an incredible mission in East Tyrol! Despite the most adverse conditions, three alpinists climbed from the Lucknerhaus in Kals am Großglockner towards Ködnitzkees. Suddenly they got stuck and made an emergency call. Their rescue took around 15 (!) hours – they were finally brought into the valley unharmed.
You can only shake your head at these scenes! Two 40-year-old Czech brothers – they are twins – and a 57-year-old compatriot climbed towards Ködnitzkees on Friday at 6.15 a.m. with ski touring and climbing equipment – immediately after an eight-hour (!) night’s drive and despite forecasted bad weather (rainfall, strong wind).Snowfall, strong gusts of wind, minus 9 degrees CelsiusUnsurprisingly, the weather conditions did not improve – on the contrary: “Snowfall occurred, strong gusts of wind occurred and the temperatures fell to minus 9 degrees Celsius,” reports the police. Nevertheless, the trio climbed a gully on the southern flank towards the summit. But the Czechs quickly reached their limits and had to give up their plan – as it was neither possible to get up or down. They made an emergency call around 10:42 p.m. Helicopter operation was not possible. However, rescue by helicopter was not possible for the reasons already mentioned, so 13 emergency services from the Kals mountain rescue service and a police mountain guide climbed shortly after midnight on touring skis in heavy snow and wind to the Erzherzog-Johann-Hütte. “They arrived there at 5am. As daylight approached, the emergency team climbed further in the direction of the climbed alpinists and were finally able to locate them at an altitude of around 3,500 meters above sea level – in the area of the south face,” says the police. A 200-meter-long rope was needed for abseiling over a 200 They were then able to use a meter-long rope to reach the alpinists and carry out the rescue upwards under the most adverse conditions. The three uninjured but slightly hypothermic Czechs were finally secured and taken to the Erzherzog Johann Hut. After a short stay, the rescue continued into the valley. A total of 20 mountain rescuers, three alpine police officers and police patrols were on duty. The entire rescue operation lasted a total of around 15 hours due to the enormous amounts of fresh snow, the darkness, the complex rescue and the terrestrial ascent and descent – ascent around 1600 (!) meters in altitude. A total of 20 mountain rescuers and three alpine police officers as well as the police patrol from PI Matrei in East Tyrol were on duty.
source site-12