BOLZANO. Tragedy in Val Gardena. A 57-year-old Canadian hiker lost her life in the snowstorm that hit South Tyrol yesterday (September 12).
The woman was walking with her 56-year-old partner from the Genova refuge towards the Puez refugewhen they probably lost the path. The alarm was raised around 8:45 p.m. Due to poor visibility, the helicopters were unable to reach the two.
The Alpine rescue team and the manager from the Puez refuge with a future Alpine guide set out. When the two found the couple, the woman had already lost consciousness and, despite desperate attempts to resuscitate her, she died on the spot.
The story of rescuer Jan Luca Senoner, of the Val Gardena Alpine Rescue, is dramatic. Last night he was busy in Val Gardena on the Alta Via delle Dolomiti near the Puez Refuge, where two Canadians were surprised by a snowstorm. “We alerted the refuge manager. The helicopters were unable to take off due to the bad weather, a team of 7 people went up on foot. We reached the two hikers with tents and sleeping bags but unfortunately the woman died during the night”. THE VIDEO (Cnsas AA)Frozen to death, the rescuer’s dramatic story: “Helicopters blocked on the ground by the snow, we climbed up on foot”
The two Canadians were carrying out the Alta Via of the Dolomites, also known as ‘Alta via 2’. It is a high altitude walk in stages for expert hikers, from refuge to refuge, which – if done in its entirety – takes you from Bressanone to Feltre.
The tragedy occurred during the third stage, from the Genova refuge to the Puez refuge. With good weather conditions the 15 kilometers and 850 meters of altitude differencewith a short equipped section, can be covered in about six hours. Yesterday, however, something went wrong. At eight in the evening they had not yet reached the Puez refuge at 2,475 meters.
There were about two kilometers of fairly flat walking left, but the two were exhausted and, because of the darkness and the snow, they had difficulty finding the path. The mountain rescue men set off on foot from Vallunga. The intervention in the snowstorm was very difficult due to the darkness and the wind gusts over 50 km/h.
When the Alpine rescue team arrived on site, the woman was already dead, despite the resuscitation attempts made by the manager of the Puez refuge and her companion. At this point, a small expedition tent, in which the man and two rescuers found shelter during the nightThis morning the Canadian was admitted to hospital suffering from hypothermia, but his life is not in danger.
Meanwhile the Puez refuge manager posted an appeal on social media with the shelter full of snow: “Danger. Please don’t go up to the shelter today.”
2024-09-15 03:37:36