Czech hiker falls into Alpine gorge after following hiking app

A young Czech hiker following a route from a hiking app fell into a gorge in the Austrian Alps at an altitude of 2,300 metres and survived. According to the mountain rescue service, it took about six hours to bring him out: 34 rescuers worked from Tuesday evening until the early hours of Wednesday.

The alert came in at around 5:40 p.m. Operation leader Wolfgang Haggenmüller said it was nothing short of a miracle that the man was alive: in this area the rock faces drop away almost vertically. He was lying in a hollow that is barely visible from above, which made reaching him extremely difficult.

Fog kept the helicopters grounded

The weather did not help the rescuers. Dense fog meant no helicopter could take off, so the team had to reach the injured man on foot. They got to him only at around 10:30 p.m.

According to the mountain rescue service, the Czech hiker suffered serious injuries to both arms, his ribs and his spine. He was slowly brought down into the valley, and the operation ended at around 4:10 a.m. on Wednesday.

Part of the route has long been closed

Gerhard Kremser, district manager for the Pongau region, told Focus that the climber had planned his route using a hiking app. In the app, the path was marked from Mitterfeldalm to the Arthurhaus, with a descent through the Birkar area. However, part of this trail has long been closed.

The rescuers' assessment was that a badly planned route and an overestimation of his own abilities put the hiker in a dangerous situation. They stress that such incidents are risky for the rescuers themselves, who have to work in difficult conditions.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz