Rescued vacationers complained about a mountain ordeal to mountain rescuers

Two holidaymakers from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia who were rescued from a mountain ordeal in still-winter Watzmann complained to the mountain rescue service’s assistants after their complicated rescue. According to their own description, rescuers previously had to beckon them up the mountain to follow instructions so that a helicopter could rescue them when visibility was very poor.

After landing, the 37-year-old and his 29-year-old companion complained that they were not treated as badly as the patients, As reported by the mountain rescue service in Ramsau, near Berchtesgaden.

Jump at the crossing of Watzmann

Sixteen mountain rescuers and two helicopters were on duty for up to seven hours on Sunday to rescue tourists from Münsterland. The two were lost in the mist between the central and southern peaks when they crossed the Watzmann in winter, which was still wintry. They were unharmed, but at about five degrees at about 8,000 feet, they were too exhausted to continue.

The crew of the Salzburg emergency doctor helicopter “Christophorus 6” and then the police helicopter “Edelweiss 6” first flew several emergency services with extensive equipment to Watzmannhaus in shuttle traffic, which then continued on foot over Hocheck and the hills to vacationers.

With visibility only a few meters away, a complex deployment of ground forces then began, a helicopter continually hovering over the mountain to be able to immediately lift the two on board if there was a gap in the clouds.

Climbers don’t want to leave their sleeping bag behind

When this moment finally came, according to the Mountain Rescue Service, there was a dispute because the mountaineers did not want to leave their unpacked sleeping bags behind, as they had been ordered to save time. Mountain Rescue spokesperson Michael Renner commented on High Mountain Rescue in Wind and Weather.

Those affected have not always been able to assess the explosiveness of the situation and the great risks they are exposed to and to rescue workers in the mountains. “Abandoned sleeping bag has nothing to do with human life and health!” But the rescuers didn’t want to overcomplain either: “Those affected react differently to impressions of an exceptional situation than they might otherwise.”

But the rescuers were alarmed by the attitude of many hikers and mountaineers: “We were increasingly surprised by the grave expectation that rescue in high mountains in wind and weather would be foolproof and insignificant.” Some climbers often do not properly assess the situation. “For us, too, the operation in the old, slippery, difficult-to-assess snow in the crash area was very risky,” explains Rescue Mountain Rescue spokesman Renner.

with information from dpa