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Eerie series of deaths on the Watzmann - the mountain of fate in the Berchtesgaden Alps

2021-08-12T14:05:39.519Z


Again and again mountaineers fall to their deaths in the Alps. Above all at the Watzmann the accidents are increasing. It is not called Mount Doom for nothing.


Again and again mountaineers fall to their deaths in the Alps.

Above all at the Watzmann the accidents are increasing.

It is not called Mount Doom for nothing.

Berchtesgaden Alps - At 2713 meters, the Watzmann is the highest mountain in the Berchtesgaden Alps - at least on the German side.

Due to its unusual shape, it is considered a landmark for the Berchtesgadener Land *.

Hikers and mountaineers can look forward to tours of all levels of difficulty.

The secondary peaks of the Watzmann also allow easy hikes.

The most demanding tour is probably the Watzmann crossing.

However, this is "only feasible for really experienced, absolutely sure-footed, vertigo-free and fit mountaineers", writes the Berchtesgaden municipality on its website.

It is precisely on this tour that people fall to their deaths again and again.

This is why the mountain is also called the mountain of doom.

Numerous mountain accidents on the Watzmann: Two dead in the past few days alone

The east face of the Watzmann is the longest continuous wall in the Eastern Alps. It extends over an altitude of 1800 meters from the Königssee to the summit of the Watzmann Südspitze. Fatal accidents occur time and again there. Since the first ascent in 1881, 107 climbers have died on this wall alone, as the

BR

reports. This is exactly where a 39-year-old fell 200 meters * from the Watzmanngrat on Saturday. According to the investigations of the Berchtesgaden police mountain guide, the woman was probably traveling alone between the central point and the southern point. At the height of the weather station she came off the actual path through fog and was supported.

A 59-year-old mountaineer suffered a similar fate on Wednesday afternoon. The man fell to his death about 200 meters below the bivouac box for an unexplained cause. According to the Berchtesgaden police, the man was traveling with two companions on the Berchtesgadener Weg. At the scene of the accident, the climbers walked without a rope, as the terrain there is relatively easy. The three men were able to cope with the tour “both from their alpine skills and from the equipment and knowledge of the tour”, as the Bavarian Red Cross wrote in a message. After the crash, one of the men was relegated to the injured 59-year-old, but could not do anything for him.

(By the way: Our Bavaria newsletter informs you about all developments and results from the Free State about the upcoming federal election - and of course about all other important stories from Bavaria.)

Body of a missing 21-year-old from Augsburg discovered after eight months at the Watzmann

In mid-June, a mountaineer found the body of a 21-year-old amateur athlete.

The young man has been missing since October.

The emergency services had been looking for the Augsburg driver for weeks at the onset of winter - but in vain.

The large amount of fresh snow and the clouds gave the rescuers no chance of finding the man.

After eight months, on June 12th, a mountaineer finally discovered him in the upper re-route at an altitude of around 2600 meters below the Watzmann-Mittelspitze

Since crossing the Watzmann can be extremely dangerous for inexperienced mountaineers, the municipality expressly points out that the tour is not a via ferrata. "Although you can secure yourself in many places with a via ferrata set, there are also more uninsured and extremely exposed passages that require absolute surefootedness and a head for heights!", It says on the page. You shouldn't underestimate your stamina on this route. It is an "extremely demanding tour" and only for "fit mountaineers".

(tkip) * Merkur.de / bayern is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2021-08-12

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