In the Zugspitze area, three 20-year-old ski tourers from the Weilheim area were buried.
The mountain rescue service arrived with a large contingent.
Garmisch-Partenkirchen – The accident happened late Tuesday morning (January 31) in the Gatterl area in the Zugspitz area.
The ridge of rock known as Gatterl is located in the south-east of the Zugspitze.
The border to Tyrol runs across it and a popular tour leads to the Zugspitze.
Avalanche near Zugspitze: two ski tourers 100 meters down
But these three 20-year-old ski tourers from the Weilheim area, who were there on Tuesday, were unlucky.
The Garmisch-Partenkirchen Mountain Rescue Service reported on Wednesday that snow drifts triggered a slab avalanche above them.
The three were caught by the snow masses.
One was able to save himself, the other two were torn down by the avalanche around 100 meters.
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Two ski tourers save themselves - a third disappear under the snow masses
But luck was also involved when the avalanche stopped on flatter terrain.
One of the two was only partially buried and was able to free himself from the snow masses.
The other person, however, was completely buried.
The two friends immediately alerted the mountain rescue service and immediately began searching for their companion.
The three climbers were well equipped.
Everyone carried an LSV device with them.
Each LSV device sends a signal to the other devices within range once per second.
If someone is buried, the others can set their devices to receive and thus locate the buried person.
With this method, the two found their companion – under a layer of snow around 1.5 meters thick.
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The location: The avalanche went below the Gatterl.
© Bergwacht Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Within ten minutes, the friends save their companion
Within ten minutes, the two were able to completely dig up their companion.
When they found her friend, he was unconscious but regained consciousness after being rescued.
A little later, two mountain rescuers arrived by rescue helicopter (Christoph 1).
The victim was hypothermic but responsive.
He was flown to the hospital in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
Avalanche on the Zugspitze: mountain rescue service expressly praises mountaineers
Peter Anzenberger, head of operations and deputy head of the Garmisch-Partenkirchen mountain rescue service, expressly praised the reaction of the two climbers.
The victim owes his life to his two friends.
The equipment was also good for everyone.
In the event of an avalanche accident, every minute counts, which makes it all the more important that the comrades in a group start the rescue independently.
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By the way: An old BR archive video shows very clearly how the Zugspitze has changed over the decades.
Everything from the region is also available in our regular GAP newsletter.
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