A 32-year-old Czech female climber died on Saturday, July 25, while descending from the Wildspitze (3,774 m), the highest peak in the Ötztal Alps and the second-highest peak in Austria. Her climbing partner, who was the same age, suffered serious injuries.

According to the Tyrolean police, the couple was descending, roped together, from the north summit along the northwest ridge. At an altitude of approximately 3,712 meters above sea level, the woman decided to remove one layer of clothing due to rising temperatures. After finding a suitable spot to stop, the man put crampons on his mountaineering boots while the woman was undressing. Suddenly, for reasons that remain unclear, she slipped down the steep north face of the Wildspitz, pulling her partner with her, and both fell approximately 140 meters.

They came to rest in a glacier crevasse. The man managed to climb out of the crevasse and, by shouting loudly, attracted the attention of a passing group of climbers, who immediately launched a rescue operation.

A rescue helicopter managed to rescue the man and transport him to the Taschachhaus mountain hut for initial treatment. On the second flyover, the doctor could only confirm the death of the woman, who was still in the crevasse. The man suffered serious injuries in the fall and, after receiving first aid, was transported to a hospital in Zams.

Source:

polizei.gv.at: Tödlicher Alpinunfall auf der Wildspitze im Gemeindegebiet von St. Leonhard im Pitztal