Mountain rescue saves two climbers stranded near Sonnblick summit

Mountain rescue teams brought two German climbers to safety after they became stranded near the summit of the Hohen Sonnblick mountain in Rauris, Salzburg, ORF reported. The 26-year-old and 42-year-old men were not carrying suitable glacier equipment and had been misled by a navigation app.

They called mountain rescue at about 8.30 p.m. on Friday after they could no longer continue. The rescuers safely led them to the Zittelhaus mountain hut. The men had set out at 9 a.m. from the Wallackhaus mountain hut to cross to the Sonnblick via the Klagenfurt Jubilee Trail, relying on the app for directions and estimated travel time.

The rescue service had received another call the previous day after a family that had climbed from Heiligenblut failed to report home. Relatives alerted rescuers at about 11 p.m. During the night, rescuers established that the family had arrived safely at the Zittelhaus.

A few days earlier, rescuers had also encountered other people who had reached the Hohen Sonnblick via the east ridge but no longer felt able to descend the steep route and called for help.