Aosta Valley - A sigh of relief from the mountain rescue team in the Aosta Valley: two German alpinists who had to spend a night at an icy altitude on the Monte Rosa massif are safe and well. A rescue helicopter was able to reach the two men at dawn on Friday morning and fly them down to the valley. They were taken to the Parini Hospital in Aosta for a check-up, but according to initial reports, they appear to be in good health.
Bad weather prevented an earlier rescue
The drama for the two Germans began on Thursday during the descent from Gemello del Breithorn, a summit at over 4,000 meters. A technical problem with their rope forced them to make an emergency stop at high altitude. An initial attempt to rescue the trapped climbers by helicopter had to be aborted immediately due to the bad weather. A ground team from the mountain rescue service, which set off on foot, also had to abandon its rescue attempt due to the acute avalanche danger.
The two mountaineers had no choice but to follow the instructions of the rescue coordination center: Seek shelter, spend the night on the mountain and hope for an improvement in the weather the next morning. With the first rays of sunshine on Friday, the helicopter was finally able to take off and pick the men up safely.
