A German (21) was seriously injured on Monday when ice climbing in the Carinthian Malta Valley. As the man was climbing as part of a group of four, a large chunk of ice suddenly broke loose above him and yanked him down. The climber was rescued by rescue helicopter and flown to the hospital.
The German group, consisting of men aged 21 and 22, wanted to climb ice falls in the Malta Valley on Monday and therefore made their way to the Faller Falls. At around 11 a.m. they started their tour up the approximately 30 meter high ice fall. “All four have the same standard of experience in the mountains, but no special training in ice climbing, so the men wanted to try it,” says a police officer. Serious injuries to the upper body When a 21-year-old – who was secured from above by his colleague, also 21-year-old – was about in the middle of the ice fall, a large sheet of ice suddenly broke away above the climber and pulled the man with him. “The safety rope held, but the German suffered bleeding wounds to his head and shoulder due to the heavy chunk of ice,” said a police officer. The man was rescued by the RK1 rescue helicopter with serious injuries and flown to the Klagenfurt clinic.
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