Three young mountain rescuers overcome the challenge: their journey to the mountain rescue service!

Three young mountain rescuers overcome the challenge: their journey to the mountain rescue service!

Mountain rescue is an important part of the rescue service in the mountains, and the Bavarian Mountain Rescue Training System places high demands on this. Three young mountain rescuers from the Garmisch-Partenkirchen district, Magdalena Zehntner, Stefan Häffner and André Godat, have now successfully completed their training. This intensive training usually lasts two and a half to three years and not only requires a lot of commitment, but also specific previous knowledge in the areas of skiing, ski touring, avalanche awareness and alpine climbing. How Mercury According to reports, prospective mountain rescuers must also pass aptitude tests in summer and winter - a challenge that less than half of the participants in Häffner's group of 30 people have so far been up to.

There are currently 100 candidates in the ten standby positions in the district. These committed young people not only have to prove their physical fitness, but also show their skills in many tests, which are often not passed on the first attempt. Godat, who came to Garmisch-Partenkirchen from New York City eleven years ago, and Zehntner, who was inspired to join the mountain rescue service by her father, report on the high demands placed on them.

High alpine challenges

The mountain rescue service is not only responsible for operations in the mountains, but also takes on tasks in impassable terrain and in caves. Loud BRK Garmisch-Partenkirchen There were over 1,386 missions in 2023. During a large-scale exercise at Laber in Oberammergau, passengers on a mountain railway had to be evacuated; This challenging exercise lasted several hours, during which passengers were brought to safety using the abseiling technique.

Mountain rescuers are therefore not only trained paramedics, but also have additional qualifications in mountaineering, climbing as well as summer, winter and air rescue. When alerted via the emergency number 112, the mountain rescuers are always ready to provide help, regardless of the conditions.

Intensive training and financing

The training is expensive and is largely financed by donations. The mountain rescue service can count on a large number of supporters who donate through the community foundation in the Garmisch-Partenkirchen district. The focus of the training is on optimally rescuing the patient and minimizing risks for the mountain rescuers. The individual skills are trained in realistic training on a helicopter in Bad Tölz; an approach that also works without aircraft noise and exhaust fumes and takes place in a special training hall like this Bavaria mountain rescue service shows. Here, mountain rescue, water rescue, fire brigade and police forces from all over Bavaria can train under realistic conditions.

The descriptions by Zehntner, Häffner and Godat reflect the courageous commitment and dedication that each individual brings to the mountain rescue service. A commitment that goes far beyond personal limits and makes an indispensable contribution to safety in the mountains.