He first noticed the car on Friday. Because in the evening it was still parked at the Singerskogel car park, the starting point for the hike towards Gowilalm. When the owner of a hut in the hiking area found the vehicle still there on Saturday afternoon, he became suspicious. The mountain huts in the region only open on May 1st, so staying overnight in one of them was out of the question. The man filed a report and wasn’t the only one.
Almost at the same time, hikers initially reported cries for help in the Bad-Haller-Steig area, but they quickly turned out to be dogs barking. Because there was also a transport box for dogs in the trunk of the parked car, it was suspected that this could be an emergency situation.
Two helicopters rose and combed the area between Gowilalm and Großer Pyhrgas. In the area of the Holzeralm, below steep rock faces, the air rescuers finally discovered a lifeless body. The emergency doctor could only determine death. The man, a 49-year-old from the city of Haag in Lower Austria, probably fell at least 50 meters.
“It could be that the hiker was on the Bad-Haller-Steig towards Pyhrgas and slipped there. But we can’t say for sure. But we assume that the accident happened on Friday,” says Johannes Breithofer, head of operations at the Spital am Pyhrn mountain rescue service.
Mountain rescuers and police brought the dog into the valley
Mountain rescuers and police officers were now looking for the dog, which was barking and whining above the rocky step. Mountain rescuers were dropped off nearby by helicopter, a dog handler climbed up to the four-legged friend in the impassable and rocky terrain, from where the police helicopter picked him up on the rope and brought him to safety.
Editor’s note: Mountain tours on the north side above around 1400 meters above sea level are still not recommended due to the current snow situation.
Author
Gabriel Egger
Editor Upper Austria
Gabriel Egger
