Steep abysses and slippery snow: The rescuers fought their way to the holidaymakers at the Watzmann. © Mountain rescue service
The mountain rescue rescues two holidaymakers from the Watzmann - but they are anything but grateful. A mountain watchman reports on how he and his colleagues deal with such behavior.
They were in mortal danger, but were quite ungrateful for the rescue: As reported, the Ramsau mountain rescue service rescued a couple from North Rhine-Westphalia from the Watzmann. Because the 37-year-old and the 29-year-old had to leave their equipment behind on the mountain, they complained in the valley that they had "never been treated so badly as patients".
Thomas Meeß (58) is the on-call manager of the Ramsau mountain rescue service. He was present at the rescue – and reports on how he and his colleagues deal with the increased attitude of entitlement and overconfidence of many excursionists.
Risky use on the Watzmann – ungrateful holidaymakers
How risky was the assignment at Watzmann for you and your colleagues?
He was demanding. Above 2000 meters, very wintry conditions prevail, which are associated with challenges and dangers. We are well trained and well equipped – but there is always a risk.
One problem was the dense fog...
Exactly. A rescue helicopter could only transport us to the Watzmannhaus because of the fog. From there we continued to climb to the Hocheck and the ridge, which is 800 meters in altitude. There was a thick fog on the ridge. We had hoped that there would be a gap in the clouds so that we could bring the holidaymakers back to the valley by helicopter. Fortunately, this was the case. Thanks to an excellent flight performance of the pilot, we were able to take advantage of this gap.
Why did you have to discuss with the holidaymakers before they got on the helicopter?
They completely misjudged the situation. That was really an explosive situation. We only had a short window of time that we had to use. But they wanted to dismantle their bivouac first. We tried to make them understand the danger they were in – and that the alternative would be a night on the mountain. The way back over the ridge would have been very difficult under these conditions. Thankfully, this led them to leave their gear behind.
Nevertheless, the gratitude for the rescue was not very great...
That's right. Apparently, even in the valley, the two had not yet understood the danger they had been in. My comrades and I were still on the mountain when they arrived at the bottom and told my colleagues that they had never been treated so badly as "patients".
Thomas Meeß, Head of On-Call Ramsau © Mountain Rescue Private
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"It doesn't leave me cold": Mountain rangers about rescued couple from North Rhine-Westphalia
How angry does such a reaction make you?
It doesn't leave me cold. You're already at the point where you ask yourself why you're putting yourself in such danger. The two of them put themselves in this situation through no fault of their own. Of course, we talk about it among ourselves after such an assignment and such behavior. We never accuse or reproach anyone – but we try to make people understand how lucky they were. In the hope that they will behave differently in the mountains in the future. After such a mission, however, I think much longer about what could have happened than about how ungrateful the holidaymakers were. We were just happy that we brought everyone to the valley in good health. For us, too, the descent in wintry conditions and at this time of day was anything but a pleasure.
Is it becoming more and more common for holidaymakers to completely misjudge the situation on the mountain?
Yes, I have the impression that more and more people are out and about in the mountains who can't really assess themselves and the general conditions. Due to the many pictures on the Internet and social media, people today also dare to take routes that they would not have dared to take in the past. And they are no match for them.
Has the attitude of entitlement also changed?
Yes, it has. It is increasingly taken for granted that we save – no matter what the conditions are. Many people are certainly not aware that we do this on a voluntary basis. Sometimes this annoys me a lot. But fortunately, such an appearance as in this operation is the exception. Most of those rescued are very grateful.
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