Overview

• A family of five from Heidelberg was brought to safety at 3:15 AM after 11 rescuers from the Werfen station secured them with ropes across old snowfields.
• The parents wore trekking shoes and the children running shoes, and the group lacked rain gear, headlamps, and a bivouac sack.
• They proceeded from Ellmauhütte toward Söldenhütte via the Hochthronleiter despite a hut warden’s warning about their poor equipment and the challenging route.
• Stranded at the 2,100-meter Tauernscharte after calling for help at 11 PM, they had spent 17 hours on the mountain before rescue teams arrived.
• Operation leader Stefan Koller emphasized that thorough planning and careful assessment of weather and snow conditions are vital following recent deadly avalanches in the Alps.