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Austrian glacier returns hiker's backpack 63 years after crevasse fall
The Economic Times··2 Sept
A hiker who threw his backpack into an Austrian glacier crevasse in 1963 to survive a fall has had it returned after 63 years. The now 86-year-old fell on August 4, 1963, near the Sulztalferner glacier in Tyrol. Another hiker discovered the bag last month at roughly 9,700 feet. Tyrol police returned the items to his son on August 25.
Prism
What It Means For You
- The 86-year-old owner was unable to travel to collect the items himself for health reasons.
- His son told officers the backpack story had always been significant to the family.
- Among recovered items were an ice axe, a camera and a pipe believed to date from the 1950s or 1960s.
What's Happening
- The man was roped with friends who used prusik loops to pull him out after he fell into the crevasse.
- He removed and threw the backpack into the crevasse to make himself lighter during the rescue.
- Tyrol state police identified the owner through a barely legible name found in a weathered document folder.
Why Retreating Glaciers Are Revealing Old Objects
- Retreating glaciers across the Alps are exposing objects frozen for decades or centuries.
- The discovery was made on the Sulztalferner glacier at roughly 9,700 feet above sea level.
- Austrian authorities launched an investigation after another hiker found the collection of objects last month.
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