Two tourists from North Rhine-Westphalia, who were rescued from the danger of the mountain in the still wintry Watzmann, lamented the helpers of the mountain rescue service after their complex rescue. By his own description, rescuers had already had to urge them on the mountain to follow instructions so that the helicopter could rescue them when visibility was very poor.
After landing, the 37-year-old and his 29-year-old companion complained that they had never been so badly treated as patients, as reported by the Ramsau mountain rescue service near Berchtesgaden.
Climbed when crossing the Watzmann
16 mountain rescue teams and two helicopters were on duty for up to seven hours on Sunday to rescue the two Münsterland tourists. The two were lost in the mist between the central and southern peaks when they crossed the Watzmann in winter, which was still winter. They weren’t hurt, but at about five degrees at about 8,000 feet, they were too exhausted to continue.
The crews of the Salzburg emergency medical helicopter “Christophorus 6” and then the police helicopter “Edelweiß 6” first flew several emergency services with ample equipment to the Watzmannhaus in bus traffic, which then continued on foot over the Hocheck and the summit for vacationers.
With visibility of just a few meters, a complex deployment of ground forces then began, and a helicopter constantly circled over the mountain to be able to hoist the two on board immediately if there was a break in the clouds.
Climbers didn’t want to leave their sleeping bag behind
When that moment finally came, according to the mountain rescue service, there was a dispute because the climbers didn’t want to leave behind their sleeping bags undone, as ordered to save time. A high mountain rescue in wind and bad weather is neither guaranteed nor uncritical, commented mountain rescue spokesman Michael Renner.
Those affected could not always assess the explosiveness of the situation and the high risk to themselves and mountain rescuers. “An abandoned sleeping bag has no relation to human life and health!” But the rescuers didn’t want to exaggerate the complaint either: “Those affected react differently to the impressions of an exceptional situation than they would otherwise.”
However, rescuers were angered by the attitude of many hikers and climbers: “We are increasingly surprised by the dangerous expectations that rescue in high mountains with wind and weather would be something guaranteed and not critical,” he said. Some climbers often did not correctly assess the situation. “Also for us, the operation in the slippery and difficult to assess snow in the accident area was risky”, explains mountain rescue spokesman Renner.
With information from the dpa