Verena Altenberger in the ARD cave drama: "We just screamed at each other"

Created: 12/28/2022, 7:49 p.m

By: Rudolf Ogiermann

The actual drama is only just beginning: Verena Altenberger as cave climber Birgit Eberharter and Roland Silbernagl as the seriously injured cave researcher Josef Häberle in "Riesending - Every hour counts".

© Nikola Predovic

On June 8th, 2014, the speleologist Johann Westhauser was seriously injured in the head by a rockfall in the "Riesending" cave in the Untersberg in the Berchtesgaden Alps at a depth of around 1000 meters.

A gigantic rescue operation is under way, in which all in all more than 700 people are involved.

The events of eight years ago were the inspiration for the ARD two-part series "Riesending - Every hour counts".

Cave explorer Josef Häberle (Roland Silbernagl) lies deep in a gigantic cave in Untersberg near Berchtesgaden with life-threatening head injuries.

There is no shortage of people who want to save the man – but who will take the lead?

And who is responsible if there are further accidents during the rescue, and in the end even fatalities?

"Giant thing", like the cave, is the name of the two-parter by Johannes Betz (book) and Jochen Alexander Freydank (director), which can be seen in the media center after the broadcast in the first.

Verena Altenberger plays the leading role in the story, which is based on a true event.

The 35-year-old embodies the - fictional - cave climber Birgit Eberharter, who agrees to bring the rescue team to the casualty.

Other roles include Maximilian Brückner,

Ms. Altenberger, what was your first thought when you received the book for “Riesend”?

Verena Altenberger:

You have to know that at the beginning of the year I decided to take a break until the "Jedermann" in the summer.

But then my agent called me and said, "I know you wanted to take a break, but if I don't pass this script on to you, you'll hate me!"

I read it straight away, and at nine o'clock in the evening I called him and said: you have to send me the second part right now!

This screenplay caught me like a good novel that you can't put down.

Didn't the fact that most of the filming took place underground, in a place where it's constantly wet and cold, put you off?

Altenberger:

No, that actually attracted me.

The description of the project already said that we were shooting at original locations, that various training courses were required and that we should try to do as many stunts as possible ourselves.

And I'm like: OK!

I'm doing it!

You can't be vain when the only light is the other person's glaring helmet lamp.

Altenberger:

That's right.

We really shot almost like a documentary, without headlights, basically the light only came from our helmet lamps.

That had the funny effect that you're the one who plays, the one who climbs and also belays yourself, and the one who provides the light for the colleague.

All in one person.

How did you prepare?

Have you already had climbing experience?

Altenberger:

No, I wasn't able to climb before, I learned that in Vienna from a really great trainer.

Because it's dark in the cave and because I really had to be able to do everything in my sleep, the knots, the fuses, I sometimes trained with a blindfold.

That being said, rock climbing and caving have relatively little in common.

In the cave, they say, there is no aesthetics, the walls are smooth and slippery, the most important thing is that you come down safely and come back up safely.

You don't wear climbing shoes, but rubber boots.

You obviously don't suffer from claustrophobia either, do you?

Altenberger:

I wasn't sure, so I called our stunt coordinator Jason Oettlé and said: I know how to climb now, I'm not afraid of heights, but how do I find out if the caves aren't too tight for me?

And he said you can't practice that properly anyway, I should just crawl under my sofa for a few days.

And so, at the end of my preparations, I actually spent a few days under the sofa.

(Laughs heartily.)

Were there still moments when you thought or even said: I can't stand it down here anymore?

Altenberger:

Well, we really were in the cave for weeks, from eight in the morning to seven in the evening, and sometimes we shot so deep inside that it wasn't possible to go outside for a moment.

That was a special challenge.

One mustn't forget that we also had our roles to play down there.

I think everyone on the team has had a day when it all got to be too much.

When was it for you?

Altenberger:

There was a day when it was said: "You're going to get very, very wet today!" And I thought: Would you put on a neoprene suit under your cave suit today?

I think because of the tightness of this suit I briefly had a kind of panic attack below.

But Jason saved the situation beautifully, he just ripped open my cave suit, took a pair of scissors, cut the neoprene and yelled, "Breathe

!

It is said that the team grew particularly close during the shooting of this film.

Altenberger:

Yes, we really had an absurdly good time in those three months.

Sabine Timoteo, who plays my main partner in the cave, and I were allowed to improvise a lot because there are situations that you can't foresee - and then the dialogues develop a little differently than they are in the script.

I can remember a scene where we are already on our way back with the casualty and are discussing whether we should abseil him upside down because we would have had to go back quite a bit in order to be able to turn him.

And suddenly we just screamed at each other.

But nobody stopped, and when the scene was over, the director asked: "Are you okay?" And we were like: Probably yes!

And neither of them knew anymore whether it was a play or serious.

Something like this is only possible

In the film, the media representatives take on the task of asking whether, to put it bluntly, every idiot can climb into a cave and put himself in danger.

How do you see it?

Altenberger:

I'm really a huge fan of this community, having met so many cavers.

These are all highly trained people with top gear going in there.

But when a stone falls on you, as it was in this case, the best equipment and the best preparation don't help.

To ask why anyone goes into caves at all is utter nonsense.

Why do you climb mountains, why do you go to sea?

People just do that, they have a longing for adventure, for white spots on the map.

To be where no one has ever been before.

Some time ago you announced your exit from the “police call”.

Have there been moments when you regretted it?

Altenberger:

Don't regret it because I'm really convinced of the decision, but it's a goodbye that hurts.

This year was a year of farewells for me anyway.

I also stopped at the Salzburg Festival, I ended all long-term engagements.

But it feels right.

When I love a role so much and enjoy playing it so much, I'm always very afraid of damaging it.

If I hold on to her too long

I don't want to get to the point where I have to admit to myself that I don't feel like it anymore.

And I wouldn't bear it if the audience noticed that and said: "What a pity, it started out so well, but now it's gotten a little bland." But I'll miss Bessie.

Competency disputes: Maximilian Brückner (left) as mountain rescue chief Bertram Ehrhardt and Marcus Mittermeier as state secretary.

© Felix Vratny/BR