After a wild party in the après-ski stronghold of St. Anton in Tyrol, an alcoholic tourist from Berlin fell into a ravine. An Austrian wanted to help – and fell behind. A helicopter had to be deployed.
St. Anton in Tirol – There is currently a lot of activity in the ski areas of the Alps. Especially in Tyrol’s party hotspots such as Sölden, Ischgl or St. Anton am Arlberg, the fun on the slopes really starts at the many umbrella bars, alpine huts and après-ski bars. With sometimes strange and unforeseen consequences that are not only laughed about in Austria.
There is, for example, the piste paradise of St. Anton in the Arlberg ski area with 300 kilometers of ski runs, 200 kilometers of deep snow in open terrain and 85 cable cars and lifts. After the descent, there’s a celebration: “Whether in the iconic MooserWirt, the energetic Krazy Kanguruh, the cozy and atmospheric Sennhütte or the stylish Arlberg Hospiz Alm – this is where skiing fun meets party culture,” the holiday region advertises on the Internet.
After the après-ski party, the tourist got off the path and fell into the gorge
A Berliner was also very impressed by the hustle and bustle in the bars. But he had enjoyed so many drinks that he lost his bearings on the way to his accommodation near the Mooserwirt. Here the Steinsbach leads past a narrow gorge. It is unclear whether he lost his balance, sought a shortcut or simply could no longer walk straight. In any case, the Berliner fell into the gorge.
An Austrian from the Graz area, who was also vacationing in St. Anton, tried to come to his aid. But he also fell into the ravine! Since the slope was too steep to get back up, the Austrian called for help. Because of the steep terrain, the only option for the rescuers was a helicopter rescue. Only the ARA helicopter from Reutte (Tyrol) can carry out this at night in the western Austrian region.
Rescue pilot reveals: “The casualty had problems with his native language”
“We then rescued both of them with the winch,” explains the pilot Oliver Waldschmidt, himself a German from Lake Constance merkur.de von Ippen.Media. However, power lines didn’t make things any easier. “We then dropped them off at a landing site nearby,” Waldschmidt continued. “They were hypothermic but not seriously injured, although the Berliner had quite a bit of trouble with his native language,” the pilot laughed. “The two obviously know each other from their studies and met in St. Anton. They had apparently already filled up a lot at the Mooserwirt.”
Sometimes there are violent fights if the guests have had too much fuel during the après-ski fun. In February, the party guests even attacked each other with skis and snowboards.
