On Thursday afternoon, a snow and debris avalanche occurred near the summit of Aguja Guillaumet in the Patagonia region. An experienced German mountaineer died.
Patagonia, Argentina – A German died in an avalanche accident in the Argentine-Chilean border area of the Andes. His Austrian companion was seriously injured, as the administration of the Argentine national park “Los Glaciares” in El Calafate announced on Saturday night at the request of the German Press Agency (dpa). A third person was not injured in the accident near the summit of Aguja Guillaumet and was able to get help.
Mount Fitz Roy: Unpredictable weather conditions make ascent difficult
An avalanche in the mountain range of the approximately 3,400 meter high Mount Fitz Roy surprised the three experienced climbers who were on a tour. Due to the shape of the mountain and the unpredictable weather conditions in the region, the ascent is considered difficult, as reported by the dpa. The climbing magazine Lacrux According to the German and Austrian climbers in the steep snowfield, the third climber had made his way up further to the right by the rocks. The third person managed to get help after the accident. However, he first had to descend for two hours because the three climbers had set off without any means of communication, like them Tyrolean daily newspaper reported.
A total of 44 emergency services from the national park and the police as well as volunteers were involved in the search and rescue operation. An Argentine military helicopter was initially unable to reach the site of the accident because of the bad weather.
Austrian woman with serious injuries in hospital
The Austrian was found on Thursday afternoon with serious injuries to her chest, skull, spine and right leg and was taken to a hospital in El Calafate, around 250 kilometers away. The Austrian Foreign Ministry announced on Saturday that the embassy had already contacted the victim by telephone. Accordingly, the mountaineer is approachable, like that Tyrolean daily newspaper reported. The German, who comes from the Garmisch-Partenkirchen district, was only found dead on Friday morning.
Experts estimate the number of avalanches worldwide to be around one million each year. The snow masses often reach 200 to 300 kilometers per hour and weigh several thousand tons. Around 90 percent of those buried caused the avalanche themselves, as reported by the German Alpine Association (DAV) (BM with material from dpa).
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