Another tragedy in the mountains: Climber falls to his death just below Triglav summit

A climber fell to his death just below the summit of Slovenia’s Mount Triglav, forcing rescuers into a difficult operation through fog that repeatedly obscured the mountain’s southern face.

The accident happened yesterday afternoon on the ridge between Triglav and Little Triglav. Rescuers from the Bohinj Mountain Rescue Service and the mountain rescue team on duty at Brnik reached the rocky ledge where the climber had come to rest. They found that he had not survived the fall.

Weather conditions made a direct helicopter rescue impossible. A Slovenian army helicopter instead flew the rescuers to the summit, from where they descended to the victim using rope techniques. They prepared the body for transport and flew it to the valley in the evening, according to Slovenia’s Administration for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief.

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It could have seemed as though the spirit of Triglav itself was playing a game of hide-and-seek with us. Now the wall opened, now it closed.

Bohinj’s mountain rescue service later wrote on Facebook that mist winding through the southern face had complicated the demanding mission. “It could have seemed as though the spirit of Triglav itself was playing a game of hide-and-seek with us. Now the wall opened, now it closed,” the service said.

The rescuers also noted that most members of the team had already confronted a fatality on Friday, when a paraglider plunged from the slopes of Vrh Krnic. “Each of us deals with this in our own way, but it helps greatly that the boys and girls stand together, because only we know what kind of storm rages in our heads at moments like these,” they said.

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Each of us deals with this in our own way, but it helps greatly that the boys and girls stand together, because only we know what kind of storm rages in our heads at moments like these.