German climber, 20, left behind on Austrian via ferrata in snowstorm, rescued after 14 hours

Started late, stuck at 2,600 metres

On Saturday, 31 October, three young men from Germany set out to climb the Königsjodler via ferrata in the Hochkönig massif of the Austrian Alps, despite a warning from another climber and a poor weather forecast. The Salzburg mountain rescue service said they entered the route far too late in the day. Around 19:00 one of them, a 20-year-old, could go no further at an emergency exit at about 2,600 metres and raised the alarm. His two companions kept climbing and reached the Matrashaus, a mountain hut at 2,941 metres that was already closed, during the night. They left him behind at the exit point.

Rescue on foot through the night

Poor conditions kept the rescue helicopter on the ground, so mountain rescuers from Mühlbach had to climb on foot. Wolfgang Haggenmüller, the operations and local station leader in Mühlbach, said the ascent was demanding even for the rescue team. Throughout the operation the rescuers kept telephone contact with the climber and told him to keep moving. Eleven mountain rescuers reached the exhausted and hypothermic man shortly before midnight. Haggenmüller said the instructions given by phone were clear:

“We explained to the German that he has to move and that he must on no account descend alone.”

A descent through snow and slides

The descent was roped, and the route was passable only with crampons because it was icy and slippery. About 20 centimetres of new snow had fallen, the trail was no longer visible, and snow slides came down the steep ground. Haggenmüller described the conditions in one line:

“It was life-threatening for everyone.”

The team reached the Erichhütte, at 1,500 metres, at 8:18 on Sunday, 1 November, after about 14 hours in total. A further cold snap with heavy snowfall had set in while the rescuers were on their way up. Rescuers also reported a real risk of falling on the steep, rocky ground.

A second incident near the Zugspitze

A separate case involved a route from Ehrwald in Austria toward the Zugspitze. A 17-year-old woman from Baden-Württemberg and her 21-year-old companion from Bavaria tried the Stopselzieher via ferrata and got into an alpine emergency at about 2,500 metres. At times they sank into knee-high snow, and the pair judged that going on was too dangerous. The man descended while the young woman made the emergency call. A police helicopter brought her out unharmed.

Warnings, costs and the investigation

Gerhard Kremser, the Pongau district leader of the mountain rescue, said a further night in the open at that altitude, with snowfall, would probably have been fatal for the climber. He tied the episode to overconfidence and ignored warnings:

“Mountaineering also means turning back in time. The mountains are not going anywhere.”

Kremser said the operation showed how quickly overconfidence, ignored warnings and poor route planning can create a life-threatening situation. Alpine police are now investigating, and a police spokeswoman said prosecutors must decide whether the companions' conduct is relevant under criminal law. In Germany, rescue costs are not automatically covered by statutory health insurance, which pays only when the operation was medically necessary.