Linz ski tourer (49) fell 200 meters on Warschenek

The 49-year-old woman from Linz and her companion deviated from their original route due to a weather front.

The two experienced ski tourers climbed up the southeast ridge and wanted to ski down the ski instructor trail. According to the police, both routes are very demanding. When a front moved in at midday, the two of them couldn’t find the entrance to the ski instructor’s path, which was partially secured with ropes, and instead made their way down the valley through steep, rocky terrain. Equipped with crampons and ice axes, they tried to make their way over the Red Wall. The woman probably lost her footing and fell more than 200 meters into the Glöckelkar.

47 mountain rescuers on duty

Her companion immediately made an emergency call. “The emergency call reached us around 1 p.m., we immediately went out in two groups to save the two athletes,” says operations manager Johannes Breithofer from the Spital am Pyhrn mountain rescue service in an interview with the OÖN. In adverse weather conditions, the 47 mountain rescuers climbed to the scene of the accident. A group climbed up to the man, who had buried himself in a snow cave to protect himself from the cold. The man was rappelled down and brought safely down to the valley via the ski instructor path.

The second group set out to rescue the woman who had fallen, which, according to Breithofer, was achieved relatively quickly. “We supplied them with heat and brought them into the valley before it got dark,” says the operations manager. The seriously injured victim was transported on a stretcher to a forest road around 700 meters below. The emergency medical helicopter was waiting below the fog line and was used to take the seriously injured person to the hospital.

“Teamwork is crucial”

“It was a difficult rescue operation because the operation was ground-based. There was no flying weather in the Alpine terrain, so the helicopter was not available for the rescue,” says the mountain rescue operations manager. What is crucial in operations like these? “Teamwork. We know each other in the region, have already completed many missions together and know what everyone can do. In situations like this, you have to be able to rely on each other,” says Breithofer.