| lijaneja28. 12. 2024 20:18:06 |
For the last few days, we mountain lovers have been closely following the events under Kotliči. For me, as a layman, it's a big mystery why so many people ventured into such a demanding rescue with great danger?? I kept my fingers crossed that everyone would return safely to the valley and that the Kotliška tragedy wouldn't become even bigger. Well, anyway, we could finally breathe a sigh of relief at the end.
I came across an exceptionally well-written article after the successful multi-day rescue operation and I must say that in my old age, my eyes welled up again.
I hope I can post this article here and I believe many will read it emotionally.
December 28, 2024 | Written by: GRS Kamnik
The rescue intervention in Kotliška Gully between December 22 and 26, 2024, represents one of the most grueling rescues in the Slovenian mountains in recent years. All five days, from the call for help to the completed transport of the injured person and the rescue team to the valley, involved intensive activities. The rescue was complicated and prolonged by bad and extremely windy weather, and due to the difficult access to the accident site and the need for classical rescue, organization and logistics were additional challenges, as five Mountain Rescue Service associations from Kamnik, Celje, Kranj, Ljubljana, and Škofja Loka participated.
We Kamnik mountain rescuers received the call for help on Sunday, December 23 around 6 PM, when it was already dark outside and (forecast) snow had started to fall. We received information about a serious injury to a Hungarian man – broken leg. The exact location wasn't fully known yet, but we knew it was a rescue in extremely demanding and steep terrain between Turska Gora and Brana. Immediately, teams from neighboring associations – Ljubljana MRS and Kranj MRS – were mobilized for help. Classical transport in this area would already require great efforts during the day in good weather, where every hand is very welcome. Somewhat later, when determining the accident site more precisely, we received information that the injured person with his companion might be on the northern side above Logarska Dolina, in the area called Boštjanca. Therefore, we also activated a team from Celje MRS.
The first team, consisting of Kamnik rescuers, set off less than an hour after the call towards Kamniško Sedlo, from where Boštjanca is most easily accessible, where the climbers in distress might be. Shortly after them, the other teams from all mentioned associations also headed to the terrain. In a real snowstorm, only the first team reached Kamniško Sedlo, the others waited at the bivouac Pri Pastirjih and on Jermanec, ready for immediate continuation if needed. At the same time, Celje mountain rescuers headed towards Kamniško Sedlo but interrupted the ascent due to snow avalanches they already heard from the surrounding walls. Upon this information, the decision was quickly made that any further activity was too dangerous, so all teams returned to the valley, where the last rescuers arrived shortly after midnight. This was followed by a quick exchange of information and planning the rescue for the next day. We all went home with the heavy realization that both on the mountain faced an extremely difficult survival test of a long, cold, snowy, and extremely windy night. The prospects were definitely not good.
On Monday, December 23, we gathered in the GRS Kamnik premises at 6 AM – rescuers from Kamnik, Kranj, Ljubljana, and Škofja Loka, while Celje ones headed for another terrain inspection from Logarska Dolina or Okrešelj. In Kamnik, we made a rescue plan, selected the necessary equipment, and set off to V Konec and further over Žmavcarje towards Kotliška Gully. Namely – according to the latest and much more accurate data, the climbers should be right there. Shortly after 9 AM, the location of the Hungarian climber, with whom we were in contact all night, was confirmed by the police helicopter team, which managed to fly over the Kotliška Gully area in "stormy" weather. Unfortunately, the weather was too bad to perform helicopter rescue – mainly the wind prevented safe hoisting, as turbulence tossed the helicopter in the air like a dry beech leaf. All energy was then directed to classical (on foot) access to the injured woman, to whom the first rescuer descended around 12 PM. It's unbelievable that she survived such a wild night and was able to, despite hypothermia and frostbite, herself, secured with a rope and with rescuers' help, climb out of the precipitous wall above Kotliška Gully and then descend to the valley. Unfortunately, there were no traces of her climbing companion … The strenuous day and demanding rescue of the Hungarian climber was described by Tadej Trobevšek, who was the first to descend to her:
“It was already strenuous up to the jump above the tree line. All the time we were wading through fresh snow, searching for the path, advancing also with ice axes. The wind was merciless at times, snow everywhere in the air. Here we branch off right from the path leading up to the bivouac under Skuta towards Brana, Kotliči. First, dense bushes and searching for passage await us, then it goes a bit easier, then bushes again and sinking up to the waist. We approach the wall, find a passage under it, a gully awaits us carved by water in summer rains, we continue crossing and slowly approach the edge of the wall that vertically continues into Kotliški Gully. Here we stop. We know we're close, the altitude is right. We call her. We hear her voice. She's still alive. However, due to the walls around us and the sound bouncing off them, we can't determine her exact location. When the helicopter flew in the morning for the first time, they spotted her as she was signaling with a light. Judging by the photo they sent us, she's to our right, under a somewhat more pronounced little wall. The question is how to reach her. The terrain here is very steep, rocky, snowy, icy, everything ends several hundred meters lower with one or more jumps into the gully.
With Boris, we cross right along the steep snowy wall, can't go further. We return to the ridge, climb higher. We're figuring out which gully leads to her. I decide and call the base to ask if the helicopter could fly once more and try to direct us. It's a little before 1 PM when they tell us it will work and indeed, after a while, we hear a pleasant rattling. The rescuer in the helicopter tells us we're right where we need to be. We use the spruces growing in the right place. I tie myself to the 100-meter rope and start descending to her. When I'm about halfway, I spot a blue motionless lump. I call her. Magdalena unzips the sleeping bag in which she spent the last 19 hours and waves to me. Inside me is a mix of emotions, from relief that she's alive, amazement at the miracle that she survived, satisfaction that we found her and the effort wasn't in vain, worry about her condition, there's also fear and a big question of how to get out of the wall.
I descend those last few meters to her and first tie her to the rope to secure her. Until our arrival, she sat in the snow, unsecured, wrapped in a sleeping bag, crampons on her feet, ice axe in the backpack, half a meter ahead the terrain drops vertically again. I step to her and ask how she is. She says she can't feel her feet, her legs are stiff. I relay the info to the guys above and Jakob, the doctor from the Kranj association, descends on the rope. He brings a climbing harness, tea. We put it on her and tie her to the rope that will take her back to life. We give her tea, she drinks slowly and the warmth does her good. She tells us her friend is below, he fell further on the snowy rocks. It puts us in a difficult position. Since we don't want to confront her with the harsh reality here, we tell her our first task is to get her out of the wall. She also says they were descending from Kotliči and turned towards Kotliška Gully because there was a path drawn on online maps, but unfortunately, that path is hard to find even in summer. From the upper snowy slope, they descended too quickly towards the gully, couldn't go further, climbed right over the rocky edge back up, and while climbing the snowy and icy wall, he slipped. He fell lower, told her he has a broken leg. That's when they called for help. She wrapped herself in the sleeping bag that saved her life and sat there where I found her. Around midnight, she heard rattling below her and since then her friend hasn't responded, neither to her calling nor on the phone.
Jakob shoulders her backpack too and starts ascending. I stay on the rope lower next to her and help her with the ascent all the time. We cooperate well with the guys above and they lift us nicely back out. Magdalena is also doing surprisingly well, given her condition and how long she was completely still in the snow. The last rocky obstacle, which we bypass on the right, and we're back with the others. Here we dress her additionally, she gets a heating pad, we change her gloves, put on goggles, gets warm tea again. All of us together, even though a demanding descent awaits, feel relief. Our effort wasn't in vain, we saved a life.”
The descent to the valley went smoothly without major incidents, but still over technically demanding terrain. On some exposed and due to snow even more dangerous sections, rope belays were also needed. We arrived at the cars somewhat above the lower station of the freight cable car to Kokrsko Sedlo in the dark. We took Magdalena to Kamniška Bistrica, where we handed her over to the medical team. Thus, we successfully concluded the day, but with the awareness that someone is still trapped on the mountain.
Rescue activities continued on the holiday days, i.e., December 24 and 25. Every day, terrain inspection was done in Kamniška Bistrica, but unfortunately, the wind was too strong for safe rescue. On Christmas morning, the wind calmed a bit. The circumstances allowed takeoff and terrain inspection with the reconnaissance police helicopter. Nevertheless, there were no traces of the missing person. But from the recordings, we could better predict places where the person might be after the fall. On Christmas day continuation, we analyzed the helicopter footage, mainly started coordinating with various services and preparing for the next day's rescue.
Armed with additional information, a good number of Kamnik mountain rescuers gathered on December 26 at 6 AM in the club premises. The nice, clear, and only slightly windy morning inspired hope that we could find the missing and hand him over to the family. Finally, the helicopter could help too, which transported our seven to the area where we rescued the chilled Hungarian woman a few days ago. Kotliška Gully is too narrow and deep to hoist directly into the gully from the helicopter. So we had to rig nearly 250 meters of rope, on which we descended into the gully. Since there were no traces of the missing at the bottom, we started searching with the RECCO device, which detects electronic devices (avalanche transceiver, car keys, smartwatch, phone, …) and with probing. The latter was soon successful – one rescuer found the missing at a depth of 2.3 meters. In a good day, the strong north wind from the north sides brought huge amounts of snow and deposited it in the leeward Kotliška Gully. Additionally, the missing was buried by powder slabs releasing from Brana's north wall.
We then dug out the missing and with rope technique lifted him 50 meters higher, where the helicopter rescuer from the police helicopter could already take him. In the meantime, we rescuers climbed out of the gully, packed all equipment, and prepared for helicopter transport to the valley, where we landed shortly after 2 PM. This was followed by a well-deserved snack at the Pri Jurju inn in Kamniška Bistrica. We finished packing equipment and analysis around 4 PM and finally headed home more calmly.
Bottom line … the just described rescue was one of the more demanding in recent years. Due to all circumstances, the rescue intervention was technically and logistically extremely demanding. A total of 5 Mountain Rescue Service associations participated with 109 mountain rescuers and female rescuers, additionally Slovenian Police with their helicopter crews and Mountain Unit, and the PR service of the Slovenian Mountain Rescue Association. Moreover, the rescue attracted considerable media and public interest, which is additional stress, as rescuers are generally not used to performing in front of cameras.
On behalf of the Kamnik Mountain Rescue Service Association, we thank all participating rescuers and female rescuers and the above-mentioned services. Kamnik rescuers agree that we collaborated and rescued excellently with everyone, regardless of not knowing each other personally (quite well). But we are united by the same mission and desire under the mountain rescuer badge. We hope to meet next time on a more pleasant occasion.
109 rescuers participated in the rescue:
Sunday, December 22: 46 mountain rescuers
Monday, December 23: 37 mountain rescuers, police helicopter crew, police mountain unit
Tuesday, December 24: 3 mountain rescuers
Wednesday, December 25: 2 mountain rescuers + police helicopter crew
Thursday, December 26: 21 mountain rescuers, police helicopter crew, police mountain unit
Written by Matej Ogorevc,
GRS Kamnik Association
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