A popular clergyman collapses while descending from a church service on an idyllic mountain peak. Members of a brass band find the priest.
Gmunden/Bad Ischl – It was perhaps the most beautiful mass that the parish priest of Bad Ischl, Christian Öhler (65), had ever read on the summit of the Traunstein near Gmunden in the Salzkammergut. More than 100 people had gathered there on Sunday morning to pray with him. But the priest died on the descent.
A magnificent mountain mass on perhaps the most beautiful peak in Austria
The Traunstein is probably the most striking mountain in the Austrian Salzkammergut. It rises “only” 1,961 meters above the idyllic Traunsee. But its west face drops almost vertically to the lake for over 1,200 meters. All paths to the summit are more or less climbing routes that require a lot of sweat. There is no road to the summit.
Pastor Öhler also had to undertake the arduous walk at the crack of dawn to celebrate a great event: an anniversary mountain mass on the Traunstein, the 75th service of this kind. The devout mountain hikers devoutly followed the liturgy at the summit cross, listened to the sermon, sang along with the brass music, took communion and enjoyed the unique view after the final blessing.
Drama in Austria: Priest had an urgent appointment in the valley and set off into the valley without a break
Only Pastor Öhler didn’t have time; he had an appointment in the town of Altmünster down by the lake. He skipped the usual break at the Gmundner Hütte and descended via the Mairalmsteig in almost 30 degrees in the scorching sun. The path, secured with ladders, steps and ropes, is considered the easiest way to the summit of the Traunstein and back, but it quickly gets hot there because the path is exposed to the south. “The great heat on Sunday afternoon caused the popular pastor great problems on the descent,” reports Georgie Danter from the “Best of Salzkammergut” tourist information office on Facebook.
The priest was probably already weakened by the heat and injured himself slightly on the way down. He had suffered abrasions on his forearm. The police report states: “The priest decided to bandage the small wound and take a rest.” A little later, things became dramatic: “At around 3:21 p.m., hikers passing by by chance, including musicians from the town band, found the motionless man lying right next to the path,” the police report.
Musicians discovered the collapsed priest and called the mountain rescue team
“Those present immediately began resuscitation measures and made an emergency call,” it continues. The whole thing happened at an altitude of 850 meters above sea level, just a few minutes’ walk from the nearest forest road. Danter: “A heart attack is suspected.” The mountain rescue team was dispatched and Öhler was resuscitated on the way. The emergency helicopter then flew with him to the Wels Clinic. The 65-year-old died on the way to the hospital.
In nearby Bad Ischl, the horror is great: “He always tried to find solutions,” says Mayor Ines Schiller to the nachrichten.at“The mood here in Bad Ischl is a catastrophe,” Schiller continued. “Everyone knew him, he was such a special person.”
Great sympathy in social networks for the popular Austrian clergyman
There is also mourning on Facebook: “Thank you Christian Öhler for your wonderful mountain mass yesterday, for your beautiful words and your friendly and open manner! Our thoughts are with you! Nature Friends of Upper Austria,” the association posted on its page. Private individuals also expressed their feelings: “Rest in peace Christian, you were a ver
y special and lovely person! You will probably continue your mission in heaven and remain in our eternal memories!”
The Traunstein summit was already the scene of an unusual operation in June: a barefoot climber had to be rescued from a via ferrata during a thunderstorm. In the Salzburg Pongau, mountaineers had to rescue a father and daughter from a via ferrata, they had no experience. In Tyrol, hikers called the mountain rescue service because they had missed the last gondola into the valley had.
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