Status: 12.09.2023, 18:15 p.m.
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Through a gully, the medical helpers reach the fallen mountaineer Im Tiefkar. © Mittenwald Mountain Rescue Service
The Mittenwald mountain rescue service, in conjunction with the ADAC air rescue, has once again done a great job in the Karwendel - and in two respects. Thanks to the courageous intervention, two injured women were flown to the hospital in time.
Mittenwald – "Predigtstuhl (1975 metres) near Mittenwald – exciting mountain tour in the Karwendel" – this is the title of a tour description. Different variants attract sport climbers to the walls above the Damkar. But the fact that dream and tragedy are often close together is something that mountaineers now had to experience first-hand. In the end, two women were injured. Thanks to the mountain rescuers and ADAC helicopter crews of "Christoph Murnau", they escaped with their lives.
"All the climbers were fit in terms of fitness and also met the requirements in terms of equipment. However, unfortunate circumstances caused two female climbers to crash," says Fredy Kirchner, head of operations, briefly summarizing the events. But the rescue operations were not that simple.
The injured woman is waved aboard the helicopter. © Mittenwald Mountain Rescue Service
On Friday afternoon, a couple, in their mid-20s, were on their way up from the sermon chair towards Tiefkar. At a so-called triple point (level of difficulty), a grip suddenly broke out. The alpine terrain there is crisscrossed with grass bands. Fortunately, the falling woman came to rest on this relatively soft ground in time. Her partner alerted the mountain rescue service, which promptly flew to the scene of the accident by helicopter of the ADAC air rescue. There they set up a rope insurance for the medical crew. After first aid, the injured woman went to the hospital. "The young woman can celebrate her second birthday and thank her guardian angel," says Mittenwald's on-call manager Heinz Pfeffer. "She wasn't tied to the rope. If she had slipped a meter further, it would certainly have been fatal."
Helicopters in action: Mountain rescue men from Mittenwald and the pilot of the ADAC air rescue discuss the next steps. © Mittenwald Mountain Rescue Service
Three days later, alpinists tried their hand at the wall on the southwest pillar. A climber climbed up to the second pitch. Then she slipped and fell 20 meters into the depths. She, too, came to rest on a heel. After the alarm was raised, two mountain rescue workers went back to the scene of the accident with "Christoph Murnau" to clarify the situation.
Among other things, the helicopter circles over the Dammkarhütte. The photograph shows the perspective from the sermon chair. © Mittenwald Mountain Rescue Service
Another three rescuers were then dropped off at the summit. They set up a so-called "Dyneema Stand" there for redundancy. The method can be used to abseil in one piece during rescues over longer distances.
After the crashed woman became unstable in health in the meantime, the mountain rescue service called in an emergency doctor. The critical condition now necessitated other measures. The emergency services rescheduled. With a so-called crash recovery, they took the woman out of the wall and flew her to the Murnau accident clinic.
"The cooperation between the helicopter crews and our 13 people during both rescues went hand in hand and went smoothly," says Kirchner, head of operations, drawing a satisfactory conclusion. Leonhard Habersetzer