Five of the six missing ski tourers were found dead in the Tête Blanche area. Anjan Truffer from the Zermatt mountain rescue service was there during the rescue. In the conversation he tells us what he encountered on the mountain. The group tried to protect themselves, but it was pointless with their material.
SRF News: You were there when the people were found. What did you encounter?
Anjan Truffer: When we arrived we saw two people lying in the snow. That didn’t look good. We then found two more people in the same place. However, they were buried by snow.
We first had to locate them and shovel them free.
The fresh snow and the wind have covered them. We first had to locate them and shovel them free.
Five people have now been found lifeless. What did they die of?
The end result was clear, the people froze to death. They got caught in a storm, probably lost their bearings and didn’t know what to do. They called for help, but we couldn’t do anything and advised them to dig a snow cave as best as possible so that they could protect themselves together from the wind and temperatures.
But they did that?
You could see that they were trying to do that, but unfortunately they were very poorly equipped and with those little shovels in the hard snow it was pretty pointless.
It can be assumed that they were experienced mountaineers. Why were they so poorly equipped?
It is assumed that they were training for the Patrol des Glaciers and probably wanted to travel as light as possible. Their luggage was correspondingly light – as little and light clothing as possible, small backpacks, ultra-light material.
What conditions prevailed on the mountain?
The temperatures were around minus 15 or minus 18 degrees. The wind speeds were certainly over a hundred kilometers per hour.
How do you feel about the group going on tour on Saturday?
It’s not our place to judge. But I think any sensible climber who saw the weather report probably wouldn’t have started.
You have experienced many missions. Is such a mission with many victims particularly special?
Such situations are never nice. But at that moment you just have to function. We didn’t have much time with the temperatures and the wind. We also knew that the next front would come. You just concentrate on the work.
The search had to be stopped several times to protect the rescuers. Does that get on your nerves?
Of course it gets on your nerves. But it makes no sense to expose more people. It’s always a risk for the rescuers and it’s a trade-off. And you just have to be patient.
You try to push yourself to the limit, and maybe even a little further.
This is unpleasant, but there was no other option. You try to go to the limit, and maybe even a little further, but when the risk to the rescuers is so great and it is so dangerous, you just have to stop.
One person remains missing. What’s next?
We don’t have any leads yet. We discuss what options remain, consult with the relatives and then we’ll see what happens next.
When there are so many victims and they are locals, almost all from the same family, does that concern you? Or do you just have to continue professionally?
After every mission we have to keep going. But you definitely think about it. Why did that happen? Why a whole family? This is very tragic. Nevertheless, we continue.
The interview was conducted by Ruth Seeholzer and Roger Brunner.